[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 42 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. HORACE PERRY JONES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RODNEY ALEXANDER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 21, 2013

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory 
of Dr. Horace Perry Jones, a legendary figure in the history of the 
University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). Dr. Jones taught history at 
ULM for nearly five decades, from 1965 until his retirement in May of 
last year. During that span, he touched the lives of tens of thousands 
of students, each of whom walked away from his class with much more 
than just lessons in history. Dr. Jones passed away on Tuesday, March 
19, 2013, at the age of 83.
   Dr. Jones's passion for life was evident to all who encountered him 
and who knew his remarkable story. A native of North Carolina, Dr. 
Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in the Korean War 
under the revered general, Lewis ``Chesty'' Puller. His adventures did 
not end after leaving the Marines, and he carried his ``Semper Fi'' 
spirit with him for the rest of his life. In addition to vigorously 
pursuing his extensive education in history, Dr. Jones hitchhiked 
across the globe, traveling through Europe, the Middle East, Southwest 
Asia, India, the Far East, and through the Panama Canal. He taught at 
the American School in London before eventually returning to the U.S. 
After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, in 1965 he 
accepted a position with Northeast Louisiana State College--today known 
as the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a school Dr. Jones came to 
love as much as it loved him.
   For the next 47 years he dazzled his students and community with a 
magical combination of history, humor, and unreserved passion for life. 
Outside the classroom, Dr. Jones was a local icon. He could easily be 
spotted driving his antique yellow Volkswagen on campus and across 
town. It was not an unusual sight to see Dr. Jones standing under a 
campus tree's canopy, beneath his mounted boar's head, reciting his 
poetry to a crowd of mesmerized students. On days of home football 
games, he was often spotted wandering the Grove among tailgaters, 
carrying a large can labeled with unmentionable motivational language. 
Even the Stubbs Hall office he occupied was celebrated--cramped with 
bizarre artifacts, classroom props, and hundreds of books he had read 
cover to cover.
   But for all he was recognized for outside the classroom, most will 
remember Dr. Jones for his role inside the classroom. There he brought 
history to life, and brought life into perspective. He was well known 
to have a few students carry him into class in a coffin, only for him 
to suddenly jump out and surprise his perplexed audience. It was not 
unusual for him to show up to class wearing a weathered graduation cap 
and gown, or excessively baggy and faddish ``Jnco'' blue jeans, or a 
``Rage Against the Machine'' T-shirt. In his classes he would leap off 
desks, swing yardsticks as swords, scream, cry, laugh, and teach the 
most passionate lessons of history imaginable.
   As exciting as his classes could be, he was a very serious teacher. 
His lessons were strategically emphasized with props, chalkboard 
drawings, and his massive Cold War era fabric map, which he hauled from 
class to class for decades and draped across his classroom walls. His 
book reports and handwritten tests could be challenging, but not nearly 
as much as his notorious ``map tests,'' on which students were required 
to label each country and sea in the world.
  Perhaps the most special moments of his classes were on the final 
class of each semester, when Dr. Jones would weave the poetry of Robert 
Frost's ``The Road Not Taken'' in with his incredible story of his trek 
across the planet. After that class, if a student had not already 
recognized it before, he realized that he was a fortunate soul to have 
had the unique privilege to study from this extraordinary man, who not 
only taught history, but lived it, and who not only lived, but 
redefined how life should be lived.
  Dr. Jones will undoubtedly be missed by the many who knew and loved 
him. But though his life on Earth is now over, his spirit, legend, and 
legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of the untold thousands 
whose lives he touched.

                          ____________________