J. E. Jumonville Sr.

John Enoul Jumonville Sr., also known as Boyzee Jumonville (December 20, 1919 – May 4, 1983), was a businessman, farmer, and horse breeder from Ventress in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate, District 17, from 1968 to 1976.[1]

John Enoul Jumonville Sr.
Louisiana State Senator for District 17 (Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana parishes)
In office 1968–1976
Preceded by	Henry M. Kimball Warren Davis Folkes
Succeeded by	J. E. Jumonville Jr.
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1919 Paintcourtville Assumption Parish, Louisiana, USA
Died	May 4, 1983 (aged 63) New Orleans, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	(1) Missing (2) Barbara Nations Jumonville (married 1967-1983, his death)
Children	From first marriage: J. E. Jumonville Jr. From second marriage: Alexander E. "Bubba" Jumonville Claude Coulon Jumonville Step-children: Leah Estes Theriot Bryan Scott Estes
Parents	Enoul Adolph and Lilly Lucena Brown Jumonville
Residence	Ventress Pointe Coupee Parish Louisiana
Occupation	Horse breeder Businessman

Jumonville was born in Paincourtville in Assumption Parish in South Louisiana, to Enoul Adolph and Lilly Lucena Brown Jumonville.[2] A former dredging contractor, he acquired great wealth in his otherwise poor Pointe Coupee Parish when natural gas was discovered on five thousand acres of land which he had purchased in 1947 for as little as $4 per acre. The land lies on the Tuscaloosa Trend, which stretches across Louisiana north of New Orleans to the Texas state line. Jumonville called his land purchase "the best real estate deal since the Indians sold Manhattan Island for $24."[3] In 1982, a year before Jumonville's death, two gas wells were producing annual income in royalties of $10 million. Jumonville ostentatiously displayed his wealth through the purchase of his own jet airplane and three Rolls-Royce vehicles. He married his second wife, the former Barbara Nations (1939-2001), formerly Barbara Estes, the daughter of Claude Benjamin Nations and the former Laura Ellen Boone, in Rayville in 1967.[4] She sported a 16-carat diamond ring, the setting of which once came off and rolled under a nightclub table in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3]

Jumonville was known for his theatrics on the Senate floor. Once in the early 1970s, he pulled off one of his boots and threw it at the clock in an effort to stop time and prolong debate on the topic at hand. His fellow lawmakers were then known to drink alcohol and become rowdy during the proceedings.[5]

Jumonville was succeeded in the state Senate by his son from his first marriage, J. E. Jumonville Jr., also a businessman and horse breeder from Pointe Coupee Parish.[1]

The Jumonville-Memorial Technical Institute in New Roads is named in Jumonville's honor.[6]

References

1. "Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880–2012" (PDF). legis.state.la.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
2. "John Enoul Jumonville Sr". search.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
3. Seth Reichlin (January 3, 1982). "Sudden Wealth Comes to Poor Community". The Victoria, Texas, Advocate. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
4. "Barbara Nations Jumonville". findagrave.com. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
5. Jeremy Alford (February 21, 2006). "The Session of Our Discontent: Emotional divisiveness trumped enlightened policy during the most recent hurricane-recovery session, creating an environment that could get worse before it gets better". Gambit: Best of New Orleans. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
6. "Jumonville-Memorial Technical Institute". legis.state.la.us. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.