Speedy Long | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 8th district |
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In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1973 |
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Preceded by | Gillis William Long |
Succeeded by | Gillis William Long |
Member of the Louisiana Senate from the 32nd district |
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In office 1956–1964 |
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Preceded by | Gove D. Davis |
Succeeded by | Willard L. Rambo |
District Attorney, 28th Judicial District (La Salle Parish) |
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In office 1973–1985 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Speedy Oteria Long June 16, 1928 Tullos on the La Salle and Winn parish border |
Died | October 5, 2006 Trout, Louisiana |
(aged 78)
Resting place | Magnolia Cemetery in Tullos |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Florence Marie Theriot Long (1933–2007) |
Relations | Gillis William Long (third cousin) |
Children | Felix Field Long (born 1959) David Theriot Long (born 1961) |
Residence | Jena, Louisiana |
Alma mater |
University of Louisiana, Monroe (AS) Northwestern State University, Natchitoches (BA) Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (LLB) |
Occupation | Attorney |
Religion | Baptist |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1946-1948 |
Speedy Oteria Long (June 16, 1928 – October 5, 2006) was a Jena (La Salle Parish) lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Central Louisiana from 1965 to 1973. Prior to his tenure in the since disbanded Eighth Congressional District, Speedy Long had been a member of the Louisiana state Senate (1956–1964). After he left Congress, he became the district attorney (1973–1985) for the Jena-based 28th Judicial District. He resumed the practice of law in Jena from 1985 to 2005 but was called back to public service in 1994 when the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed him judge pro tem of the 28th Judicial District Court until a judge could be elected in 1995. He was a member of the popular Long political dynasty, being a member of its conservative wing.
Long was born to Felix Franklin Long (1899–1982) and the former Verda Pendarvis (1905–1997) in tiny Tullos, Louisiana, on the La Salle and Winn Parish boundary. His paternal grandfather was Charles Felix Long (1859–1940). Long was named "Speedy" because he was born two months prematurely. His father was the Tullos barber and also a town council member, marshal, and, later, mayor. Speedy Long recalled that his family ate and breathed politics. He joked that he had been reared to regard Huey Pierce Long, Jr., as God Almighty, Earl Kemp Long as Jesus the Son, and Eighth District Congressman George Shannon Long as St. Peter. He attended the public schools of La Salle and Winn parishes and graduated from Winnfield High School in 1945, just days before his 17th birthday.