Ed Jones; Served 20 Years in Congress
Ed Jones, a former Democratic congressman who worked on agricultural issues, died Saturday in Dyer, Tenn., of a heart ailment. He was 87.
Known to his Tennessee constituents as “Mr. Ed,” Jones at the time of his retirement in 1989 was the third-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee and chairman of its subcommittee on conservation, credit and rural development.
He left his mark on major pieces of legislation dealing with agricultural issues ranging from farm credit programs to crop insurance. Himself a lifelong dairy farmer, Jones was a legislative friend to operators of family farms. He worked extensively for legislation to improve soil and water conservation programs and sponsored the Conservation Reserve Program.
A native of Yorkville, Tenn., Jones worked his way through the University of Tennessee by milking cows. He worked for a time as an inspector for the Tennessee Agriculture Department and was an agricultural agent with the Illinois Central Railroad from 1943 until he was elected to Congress in 1969.
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