US Congressman. Raised in Odessa, Texas, he served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II as a machine gunner in an amphibious tractor battalion, taking part in the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, and receiving the Purple Heart. After the war he remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, and eventually retired as a Major. Active in veteran's issues, in the early 1950s he served as Texas commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. After the war he attended San Angelo and Sul Ross State Colleges and Baylor University Law School, later becoming the owner of an advertising agency and a partner in a construction company. He served in the Texas House from 1948 to 1952 and the Texas Senate from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat, defeating incumbent Kenneth M. Regan in the primary, and serving four terms, 1955 to 1963. As the first chairman of the House Interior Committee's national parks subcommittee, he oversaw passage of bills that created the Cape Cod, Padre Island and Point Reyes National Seashores in Massachusetts, Texas and California. He lost his race for reelection in 1962 to Republican Ed Foreman, a defeat attributed to Rutherford's support of civil rights bills, which was contrary to the views of his more conservative constituents. He then formed J.T. Rutherford & Associates, a government relations firm which he operated until his 1988 retirement.
US Congressman. Raised in Odessa, Texas, he served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II as a machine gunner in an amphibious tractor battalion, taking part in the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, and receiving the Purple Heart. After the war he remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, and eventually retired as a Major. Active in veteran's issues, in the early 1950s he served as Texas commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. After the war he attended San Angelo and Sul Ross State Colleges and Baylor University Law School, later becoming the owner of an advertising agency and a partner in a construction company. He served in the Texas House from 1948 to 1952 and the Texas Senate from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat, defeating incumbent Kenneth M. Regan in the primary, and serving four terms, 1955 to 1963. As the first chairman of the House Interior Committee's national parks subcommittee, he oversaw passage of bills that created the Cape Cod, Padre Island and Point Reyes National Seashores in Massachusetts, Texas and California. He lost his race for reelection in 1962 to Republican Ed Foreman, a defeat attributed to Rutherford's support of civil rights bills, which was contrary to the views of his more conservative constituents. He then formed J.T. Rutherford & Associates, a government relations firm which he operated until his 1988 retirement.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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