John Emmett Lyle Jr. (September 4, 1910 – November 11, 2003) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Early life

A third generation Texan born in

Boyd, Texas Boyd is a town in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,416 in 2020. It is 30 miles (48 km) northwest of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History Originally named Greasy Bend in reference to the local hog-fattening indus ...

, Lyle graduated from Wichita Falls High School,

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

. He attended the Junior College at Wichita Falls, the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

(working as a night watchman in the Capitol basement), and the Houston Law School at night. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1934, and entered private practice in Corpus Christi.

Political career

Lyle served as a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from 1941 to 1944. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1942 to 1944; when he won the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

for renomination in 1942, he was an active duty

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of artillery in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-ninth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1955), enjoying strong support from the Parr family of Duval County. He was not a candidate for renomination to Congress in 1954. He was a staunch anti-communist and was the chief witness against the two times

Chairman of the Federal Power Commission The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the President of the Uni ...

Leland Olds Leland Olds (December 31, 1890 – August 5, 1960) was an American economist interested in labor, development of public electric power, and ecology. Education Olds was a son of George Olds, president of Amherst College. He studied mathematics ...

, when Olds was blocked by the Senate from reappointment largely on the grounds that Olds had previously been close to the Communist Party.

Later Life

Lyle was a director of Falcon Seaboard and of St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He was appointed to the Federal Council on Aging in 1994. He died on November 11, 2003, in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and was interred in

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, downtown Austin, Texas, Austin, the Capital (political), capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revo ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, John Emmett Jr. 1910 births 2003 deaths University of Texas at Austin alumni Texas lawyers Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Burials at Texas State Cemetery United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Boyd, Texas Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 20th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Texas 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives