Death stills voice of civic steward Wellborn
Educator, activist succumbs to cancer.
By John Andrew Prime
[email protected]
Bossier Parish Police Juror Wayne Hammack always knew if neighbor James Q. Wellborn had time to stop by for a chat, he'd do so.
"If I happened to be out in the yard and he passed by and he had a few minutes to visit, he would stop, and sometimes those two minutes would turn into two hours," Hammack said Friday, still sad that his Wayne Avenue neighbor and friend -- and one-time opponent for the District 11 Jury seat -- had died just hours before. "He taught me a lot about politics and gave me very sage advice at times. I'm going to miss him."
That may be a common sentiment about James Quillen Wellborn, 76, who died at his residence after a six-month battle with cancer.
Wellborn and Hammack vied for the jury seat in 1983. Wellborn lost by 67 votes, according to printed reports.
"I was my own last choice, but I had to run," Wellborn told the now-defunct Shreveport Journal, explaining he disagreed with the way his opponent planned to tackle the business of parish government. But that disagreement didn't stop Wellborn from greeting his neighbor or chatting with him, and the friendship didn't stop Wellborn from telling Hammack -- or any number of fellow elected officials -- when and where to step away from the trough, but nicely.
"James Quillen was a different type person," Hammack said. "As a competitor, he was great. There was no dirty stuff, no mudslinging. He was more fun than you could imagine. You never knew what he would say or do."
Aside from the jury run in 1983, Wellborn sought a constable post in 1996, but again lost at the polls. But he was active in civic affairs, and served on the recent commission that revised the Bossier City charter. He also opposed the passage of what he considered to still be a failed document, and was pleased when the charter was savaged by voters at the polls.
Long active in Republican politics, Wellborn helped found the party in the parish and was active in its Pachyderm Club in the 1970s.
He was also a journalist, serving as a consultant for The Times' Newspaper in Education program in the 1970s and early 1980s, and writing a long-running twice-a-week column in the Bossier Press-Tribune.
"James Wellborn understood both the power and the responsibility of media to inform and make sure government operated in the light of day,'' said Craig Durrett, editorial page editor of The Times. "He was a tireless government watchdog who could always dissect the politics of an issue. Bossier taxpayers have lost a great advocate.''
But Wellborn may best be known to several generations he taught as a mathematics instructor at Bossier High School. He taught from 1963 to 1989.
"Mr. Wellborn was a teacher at Bossier High School when I was a student there, 1963 to 1966," said Ken Kruithof, now superintendent of Bossier Parish Schools. Kruithof said he was never a student of Wellborn's, but the teacher's influence was hard to ignore.
"He didn't play favorites. He'd get on anybody, and make you mind your p's and q's."
That continued after Kruithof became superintendent.
"Sometimes he wrote things just to pique interest and see what happened," Kruithof said.
"He would do that just to see how people would react."
His scholastic career stemmed from math degrees earned from North Texas State University at Denton and Louisiana Tech. He also worked in adult education at Bossier Parish Community College, in GED courses at the Bossier Parish Jail and college prep work at the parish penal farm.
For those reasons, the Daingerfield, Texas, native had as a fan Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen, whose father, former state Rep. Jesse Dean, was close to Wellborn.
"They were real close friends," Deen recalled. "When I ran for sheriff, I was always 'Jesse's boy.' But, over time, I also became a very close friend."
According to Deen, Wellborn "loved each citizen of the parish and each public entity. He loved Bossier City, he loved Bossier Parish, he loved Louisiana and he loved the United States of America."
He worked as a host for community TV cablecasts from Bossier Parish Community College and had talk shows over the years on local radio stations KBCL and KEEL, according to one of his sons, Jeff Wellborn.
"He would be best described as a 'Theodore Roosevelt conservative,'" Jeff Wellborn said, adding that his dad got a kick from a nickname a local paper hung on him years ago: "Bossier City gadfly."
Funeral
Services are pending through Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport. Wellborn is survived by his widow, Lola Nan Wellborn; one brother; sons Jeff and James Wellborn; daughter Louann McHalffey; and seven grandchildren.
Educator, activist succumbs to cancer.
By John Andrew Prime
[email protected]
Bossier Parish Police Juror Wayne Hammack always knew if neighbor James Q. Wellborn had time to stop by for a chat, he'd do so.
"If I happened to be out in the yard and he passed by and he had a few minutes to visit, he would stop, and sometimes those two minutes would turn into two hours," Hammack said Friday, still sad that his Wayne Avenue neighbor and friend -- and one-time opponent for the District 11 Jury seat -- had died just hours before. "He taught me a lot about politics and gave me very sage advice at times. I'm going to miss him."
That may be a common sentiment about James Quillen Wellborn, 76, who died at his residence after a six-month battle with cancer.
Wellborn and Hammack vied for the jury seat in 1983. Wellborn lost by 67 votes, according to printed reports.
"I was my own last choice, but I had to run," Wellborn told the now-defunct Shreveport Journal, explaining he disagreed with the way his opponent planned to tackle the business of parish government. But that disagreement didn't stop Wellborn from greeting his neighbor or chatting with him, and the friendship didn't stop Wellborn from telling Hammack -- or any number of fellow elected officials -- when and where to step away from the trough, but nicely.
"James Quillen was a different type person," Hammack said. "As a competitor, he was great. There was no dirty stuff, no mudslinging. He was more fun than you could imagine. You never knew what he would say or do."
Aside from the jury run in 1983, Wellborn sought a constable post in 1996, but again lost at the polls. But he was active in civic affairs, and served on the recent commission that revised the Bossier City charter. He also opposed the passage of what he considered to still be a failed document, and was pleased when the charter was savaged by voters at the polls.
Long active in Republican politics, Wellborn helped found the party in the parish and was active in its Pachyderm Club in the 1970s.
He was also a journalist, serving as a consultant for The Times' Newspaper in Education program in the 1970s and early 1980s, and writing a long-running twice-a-week column in the Bossier Press-Tribune.
"James Wellborn understood both the power and the responsibility of media to inform and make sure government operated in the light of day,'' said Craig Durrett, editorial page editor of The Times. "He was a tireless government watchdog who could always dissect the politics of an issue. Bossier taxpayers have lost a great advocate.''
But Wellborn may best be known to several generations he taught as a mathematics instructor at Bossier High School. He taught from 1963 to 1989.
"Mr. Wellborn was a teacher at Bossier High School when I was a student there, 1963 to 1966," said Ken Kruithof, now superintendent of Bossier Parish Schools. Kruithof said he was never a student of Wellborn's, but the teacher's influence was hard to ignore.
"He didn't play favorites. He'd get on anybody, and make you mind your p's and q's."
That continued after Kruithof became superintendent.
"Sometimes he wrote things just to pique interest and see what happened," Kruithof said.
"He would do that just to see how people would react."
His scholastic career stemmed from math degrees earned from North Texas State University at Denton and Louisiana Tech. He also worked in adult education at Bossier Parish Community College, in GED courses at the Bossier Parish Jail and college prep work at the parish penal farm.
For those reasons, the Daingerfield, Texas, native had as a fan Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen, whose father, former state Rep. Jesse Dean, was close to Wellborn.
"They were real close friends," Deen recalled. "When I ran for sheriff, I was always 'Jesse's boy.' But, over time, I also became a very close friend."
According to Deen, Wellborn "loved each citizen of the parish and each public entity. He loved Bossier City, he loved Bossier Parish, he loved Louisiana and he loved the United States of America."
He worked as a host for community TV cablecasts from Bossier Parish Community College and had talk shows over the years on local radio stations KBCL and KEEL, according to one of his sons, Jeff Wellborn.
"He would be best described as a 'Theodore Roosevelt conservative,'" Jeff Wellborn said, adding that his dad got a kick from a nickname a local paper hung on him years ago: "Bossier City gadfly."
Funeral
Services are pending through Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport. Wellborn is survived by his widow, Lola Nan Wellborn; one brother; sons Jeff and James Wellborn; daughter Louann McHalffey; and seven grandchildren.
Death stills voice of civic steward Wellborn
Educator, activist succumbs to cancer.
By John Andrew Prime
[email protected]
Bossier Parish Police Juror Wayne Hammack always knew if neighbor James Q. Wellborn had time to stop by for a chat, he'd do so.
"If I happened to be out in the yard and he passed by and he had a few minutes to visit, he would stop, and sometimes those two minutes would turn into two hours," Hammack said Friday, still sad that his Wayne Avenue neighbor and friend -- and one-time opponent for the District 11 Jury seat -- had died just hours before. "He taught me a lot about politics and gave me very sage advice at times. I'm going to miss him."
That may be a common sentiment about James Quillen Wellborn, 76, who died at his residence after a six-month battle with cancer.
Wellborn and Hammack vied for the jury seat in 1983. Wellborn lost by 67 votes, according to printed reports.
"I was my own last choice, but I had to run," Wellborn told the now-defunct Shreveport Journal, explaining he disagreed with the way his opponent planned to tackle the business of parish government. But that disagreement didn't stop Wellborn from greeting his neighbor or chatting with him, and the friendship didn't stop Wellborn from telling Hammack -- or any number of fellow elected officials -- when and where to step away from the trough, but nicely.
"James Quillen was a different type person," Hammack said. "As a competitor, he was great. There was no dirty stuff, no mudslinging. He was more fun than you could imagine. You never knew what he would say or do."
Aside from the jury run in 1983, Wellborn sought a constable post in 1996, but again lost at the polls. But he was active in civic affairs, and served on the recent commission that revised the Bossier City charter. He also opposed the passage of what he considered to still be a failed document, and was pleased when the charter was savaged by voters at the polls.
Long active in Republican politics, Wellborn helped found the party in the parish and was active in its Pachyderm Club in the 1970s.
He was also a journalist, serving as a consultant for The Times' Newspaper in Education program in the 1970s and early 1980s, and writing a long-running twice-a-week column in the Bossier Press-Tribune.
"James Wellborn understood both the power and the responsibility of media to inform and make sure government operated in the light of day,'' said Craig Durrett, editorial page editor of The Times. "He was a tireless government watchdog who could always dissect the politics of an issue. Bossier taxpayers have lost a great advocate.''
But Wellborn may best be known to several generations he taught as a mathematics instructor at Bossier High School. He taught from 1963 to 1989.
"Mr. Wellborn was a teacher at Bossier High School when I was a student there, 1963 to 1966," said Ken Kruithof, now superintendent of Bossier Parish Schools. Kruithof said he was never a student of Wellborn's, but the teacher's influence was hard to ignore.
"He didn't play favorites. He'd get on anybody, and make you mind your p's and q's."
That continued after Kruithof became superintendent.
"Sometimes he wrote things just to pique interest and see what happened," Kruithof said.
"He would do that just to see how people would react."
His scholastic career stemmed from math degrees earned from North Texas State University at Denton and Louisiana Tech. He also worked in adult education at Bossier Parish Community College, in GED courses at the Bossier Parish Jail and college prep work at the parish penal farm.
For those reasons, the Daingerfield, Texas, native had as a fan Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen, whose father, former state Rep. Jesse Dean, was close to Wellborn.
"They were real close friends," Deen recalled. "When I ran for sheriff, I was always 'Jesse's boy.' But, over time, I also became a very close friend."
According to Deen, Wellborn "loved each citizen of the parish and each public entity. He loved Bossier City, he loved Bossier Parish, he loved Louisiana and he loved the United States of America."
He worked as a host for community TV cablecasts from Bossier Parish Community College and had talk shows over the years on local radio stations KBCL and KEEL, according to one of his sons, Jeff Wellborn.
"He would be best described as a 'Theodore Roosevelt conservative,'" Jeff Wellborn said, adding that his dad got a kick from a nickname a local paper hung on him years ago: "Bossier City gadfly."
Funeral
Services are pending through Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport. Wellborn is survived by his widow, Lola Nan Wellborn; one brother; sons Jeff and James Wellborn; daughter Louann McHalffey; and seven grandchildren.
Educator, activist succumbs to cancer.
By John Andrew Prime
[email protected]
Bossier Parish Police Juror Wayne Hammack always knew if neighbor James Q. Wellborn had time to stop by for a chat, he'd do so.
"If I happened to be out in the yard and he passed by and he had a few minutes to visit, he would stop, and sometimes those two minutes would turn into two hours," Hammack said Friday, still sad that his Wayne Avenue neighbor and friend -- and one-time opponent for the District 11 Jury seat -- had died just hours before. "He taught me a lot about politics and gave me very sage advice at times. I'm going to miss him."
That may be a common sentiment about James Quillen Wellborn, 76, who died at his residence after a six-month battle with cancer.
Wellborn and Hammack vied for the jury seat in 1983. Wellborn lost by 67 votes, according to printed reports.
"I was my own last choice, but I had to run," Wellborn told the now-defunct Shreveport Journal, explaining he disagreed with the way his opponent planned to tackle the business of parish government. But that disagreement didn't stop Wellborn from greeting his neighbor or chatting with him, and the friendship didn't stop Wellborn from telling Hammack -- or any number of fellow elected officials -- when and where to step away from the trough, but nicely.
"James Quillen was a different type person," Hammack said. "As a competitor, he was great. There was no dirty stuff, no mudslinging. He was more fun than you could imagine. You never knew what he would say or do."
Aside from the jury run in 1983, Wellborn sought a constable post in 1996, but again lost at the polls. But he was active in civic affairs, and served on the recent commission that revised the Bossier City charter. He also opposed the passage of what he considered to still be a failed document, and was pleased when the charter was savaged by voters at the polls.
Long active in Republican politics, Wellborn helped found the party in the parish and was active in its Pachyderm Club in the 1970s.
He was also a journalist, serving as a consultant for The Times' Newspaper in Education program in the 1970s and early 1980s, and writing a long-running twice-a-week column in the Bossier Press-Tribune.
"James Wellborn understood both the power and the responsibility of media to inform and make sure government operated in the light of day,'' said Craig Durrett, editorial page editor of The Times. "He was a tireless government watchdog who could always dissect the politics of an issue. Bossier taxpayers have lost a great advocate.''
But Wellborn may best be known to several generations he taught as a mathematics instructor at Bossier High School. He taught from 1963 to 1989.
"Mr. Wellborn was a teacher at Bossier High School when I was a student there, 1963 to 1966," said Ken Kruithof, now superintendent of Bossier Parish Schools. Kruithof said he was never a student of Wellborn's, but the teacher's influence was hard to ignore.
"He didn't play favorites. He'd get on anybody, and make you mind your p's and q's."
That continued after Kruithof became superintendent.
"Sometimes he wrote things just to pique interest and see what happened," Kruithof said.
"He would do that just to see how people would react."
His scholastic career stemmed from math degrees earned from North Texas State University at Denton and Louisiana Tech. He also worked in adult education at Bossier Parish Community College, in GED courses at the Bossier Parish Jail and college prep work at the parish penal farm.
For those reasons, the Daingerfield, Texas, native had as a fan Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen, whose father, former state Rep. Jesse Dean, was close to Wellborn.
"They were real close friends," Deen recalled. "When I ran for sheriff, I was always 'Jesse's boy.' But, over time, I also became a very close friend."
According to Deen, Wellborn "loved each citizen of the parish and each public entity. He loved Bossier City, he loved Bossier Parish, he loved Louisiana and he loved the United States of America."
He worked as a host for community TV cablecasts from Bossier Parish Community College and had talk shows over the years on local radio stations KBCL and KEEL, according to one of his sons, Jeff Wellborn.
"He would be best described as a 'Theodore Roosevelt conservative,'" Jeff Wellborn said, adding that his dad got a kick from a nickname a local paper hung on him years ago: "Bossier City gadfly."
Funeral
Services are pending through Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport. Wellborn is survived by his widow, Lola Nan Wellborn; one brother; sons Jeff and James Wellborn; daughter Louann McHalffey; and seven grandchildren.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
