John Edward Roush

J. Edward Roush was born on September 12, 1920 in Barnsdall, Osage County, Oklahoma. He graduated from Huntington High School, Huntington, Indiana in 1938. He then enrolled in Huntington College, receiving his A.B. in 1942. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a combat infantry officer in Europe, including being in the Battle of the Bulge. His unit was cutoff and surrounded by the Germans for five days. Roush was not wounded, but he did suffer frostbite in both feet requiring a four-month hospitalization. Roush received a Bronze Star for his actions, and then he was discharged from active duty in 1946 (he continued to serve in the Reserves). He enrolled in the Indiana University, Bloomington School of Law, earning his LL.B. in 1949. In 1948, he ran for and was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. A candidate for reelection, he had to withdraw in 1950 when he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. In 1954 he was elected Huntington County prosecutor, and then in 1958 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected four times, but then lost in 1968 when his district was redrawn by the General Assembly. In 1970, he ran again and was elected. He was reelected two more times, and then was defeated for reelection in 1976 by Dan Quayle. Roush returned to Huntington to resume his law practice. Roush’s tenure in Congress was noted for his votes safeguarding natural resources including preserving the Indiana Dunes and authoring legislation to create three different reservoirs in north-central Indiana. He supported the national legislation sponsored by presidents Kennedy and Johnson, including civil rights legislation. During his second tenure he continued to support environmental legislation, and supported ending the Vietnam War. He also was responsible for establishing the 911 emergency telephone number. J. Edward Roush died on March 26, 2004 in Huntington, Indiana. He was interred at Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery in Huntington. In 1996 he was inducted into the Law School’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows. In 1997 Huntington Lake (one of the reservoirs he authored legislation to create) was renamed J. Edward Roush Lake.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/1014/thumbnail.jp