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Submitted: 4/12/14 • Approved: 4/14/14 • Last Updated: 3/24/18 • R47191-G0-S3
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER US Navy
World War II
Korean Conflict
September 7, 1918 - October 7, 2007
U S Congressman
Born in Plain Dealing, Louisiana, he was the son of Joseph David Waggonner, Sr and Ellizibeth Johnston. He was a graduate of Plain Dealing High School and Louisiana Tech University. On December 14, 1942 he was married to Mary Ruth Carter. He owned a petroleum products distribution company in Plain Dealing where he was elected to the Bossier Parish School Board in 1954. He served with the US Navy during World War II and the Korean War where he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Thereafter he remained in the US Naval Reserve. He ran for the office of State Auditor in 1959 but was defeated by Roy R Theriot. In 1960 he was elected to the Louisiana State Board of Education. In 1961, when US Representative Overton Brooks died in office, Mr Waggonner filed in the special election to succeed him and won with 54% of the vote. He served nine terms and did not seek reelection in 1978. He served on the Science and Astronautics Committee shortly after President Kennedy announced that America would put a man on the moon within the next decade. He was also a member of the Ways and Means Committee and chaired the Task Force on Tax Treatment of Singles and Working Couples in two sessions of Congress. He counted many Presidents and high ranking officials amongst his friends. After retirement he was active in many organizations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Louisiana Tech. He was named "Man of the Year" in 1973 for this fraternity and was named "Mr Shreveport" in 1976. In 1978 he received the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, recognizing him as a friend of the Jewish people. He is an inductee in the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana. He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Plain Dealing and was chairman of the board at that church, later he attended the First Methodist Church of Benton, Louisiana. Mr Waggoner had a stroke and was hospitalized for several weeks before he passed away at Promise Specialty Hospital in Shreveport.
Contributed on 4/12/14 by debbraszymanski
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Record #: 47191