Jess Stout

Jess Lee Stout was born on September 1, 1899 in Mount City Missouri, the son of Charles and Lulu (Roach) Stout. His family moved to Rupert, Idaho, where Jess was educated, and he graduated from high school in the class of 1920. He later attended a business school in Idaho. Jess and Marie Bell were married in Rupert, Idaho, on December 10, 1921. They had one son, Jess L. Stout, Jr.. Jess and Marie were subsequently divorced and on July 16, 1960, Jess and Ada P. Hannah were married in Reno, Nevada.
Stout worked as a farmer in Idaho until 1922, at which time he moved his family to the Los Angeles area. From 1922 to 1929 he worked for the Standard Oil Company in El Segundo and San Bernardino. From 1929 to 1937 he was a salesman for the Metropolitan Insurance Company. He was the secretary and treasurer for the Eagles Lodge until 1940.
In December 1940, Stout won the Fifth Supervisorial District election to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, succeeding John Andreson, Jr.
As a county supervisor, .Stout was a staunch supporter of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Lytle-Cajon Creeks Flood Control Project. He also played key roles in transitioning the San Bernardino Municipal Airport into the San Bernardino Air Depot (later Norton Air Force Base) and for facilitating the development of the Kaiser Steel Plant.
In 1944, he was defeated for reelection by Howard L. Holcomb. He left office in December 1944. He was, for many years thereafter, a bailiff with the San Bernardino County Marshal’s Office
Stout was a member of the county planning commission and the San Bernardino City Unified School District Board of Education. He was a charter member of the San Bernardino County Rangers and president of the United Commercial Travelers. He was a member of Elks Lodge #836, the York Rite Masons and Phoenix Lodge, F. And A.M, Al Malaikah Temple, Eagles Aerie #506, and the San Bernardino Horseman’s Association. He was a member of the Public Lands Committee of the County Supervisors Association of Southern California.
Mr. Stout died on December 26, 1976, in San Bernardino. Survivors included his wife Ada, his son, Jess L., a brother, Russell E., and two grandchildren, all of San Bernardino.

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