Obituary of Jess Paul Odom, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Copied and Submitted by :Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371 From The Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal; Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. Wednesday, September 16, 1998 Many Thanks to The Times - Signal for allowing the following to be added to the Archives. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Insurance Co. founder... Successful Jena native succumbs in Little Rock Jess Paul Odom (Editors Note; Jess Paul Odom was born in Jena on October 1, 1913, to Frankie and the Rev. George Curtis Odom, a Southern Baptist preacher. After serving in World War II, he started an insurance company in Arkansas which he sold 11 years later for $12 million. Odom died last Wednesday in Little Rock at the age of 84. Following is a report on the life of Odom as printed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazzette.) Jess Paul Odom, who helped found a life insurance company in Little Rock in the 1950's and the city of Maumelle in the 1970's, died Wednesday from complications from a head injury caused by a recent fall. He was 84. Odom, known as Maumelle's founding father, bought the 5,300 acres that became Maumelle in 1966 for about $1 million. The site was used during World War II as a weapon-manufacturing and storage site. "It's a sad day," Maumelle Mayor John Mattox said Wednesday. Odom made his fortune as one of the early founders-he invested $8,000- of National Investors Life Insurance Co., in Little Rock. It grew to become Arkansas' second-largest life insurance company with branches in 17 states and in London, England. He used his wealth to finance more fanciful ventures, such as Marble Falls, a ski resort complete with condominiums, convention center and an artificial snow machine that he built near Harrison, and his Dogpatch U.S.A. theme park. "He was a dreamer-of all kinds of dreams," said Ed Dozier of Rector Phillips Morse realty. Dozier bought the first house built in Maumelle in 1974 when his advertising agency, Dozier and Thomas, had Odom as a client. "That's what Maumelle was-a dream, to go out there in the middle of nowhere and create this city. But he went out there and made this dream of his come true." Odom made millions over the years, but the self-described workaholic once said that while the money was nice, it wasn't his driving force. "If you bought something and made something of it that got you some money, well that was OK," he said in a profile on him in the Arkansas Democrat- gazette in March, 1997. "But I think for me it was the achievement." But his achievements came with a price. He didn't indulge in hobbies. Although he live in one of the first homes built on Maumelle's 18-hole golf course, the second-longest in the country when it was built in 1971, he never took up the game. He was always too busy working. And last year Odom said he regretted not having spent more time with his children when they were growing up. His own childhood was one of humble beginnings. He was born Oct. 1, 1912, in Jena, La., to Frankie and the Rev. George Curtis Odom, a Southern Baptist preacher. He was the youngest of six children and originally thought he'd become a preacher like his father but later set his sights on succeeding in the business world. Although he never took to the pulpit, he was a faithful church member. When developing Maumelle, he made sure there was a community church. He donated land for a church where 10 member, six of them Odom and his relatives, attended services in a mobile home. The site is now the home of the First Baptist Church of Maumelle. "He was a devout Christian," said Odom's son, Mike. "Even when he was in the hospital, he was witnessing to everybody he could and always led prayer before meals." As a young man, Odom's first job was in a Civilian conservation Corps camp in Ruston. After graduating from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston, now known as Louisiana Tech University, he became a manager of West Brothers department store. It was there he met his wife, Willastein, who was working as a sales clerk. The two married in 1938 and had two sons. He soon started dry cleaning businesses in Ruston and Marianna. With the onset of World War II, Odom joined the Navy and served on Guam in the Pacific Ocean. About that time he read a book about a new approach to succeeding in insurance sales. In 1955, he met an insurance agent interested in his idea and the two, along with several others, invested in a state charter for a life insurance company. The company opened in Little rock in May 1957 with one desk and one telephone in a bare office. Odom later gained control of the company and 11 years after founding it sold his interest in it for nearly $12 million. The connections and friendships Odom forged around the state through his work with organizations like the Red Cross and the Marianna Chamber of Commerce led to his success. Another plus was his experience in raising money. As a Boosters Club president, he helped raise $100,000 for a new industry at Marianna, and he led a finance committee to build an education building at First Baptist Church of Marianna. Odom appointed a director for every county to sell stock in the insurance company, usually someone he knew or someone recommended to him. In 1966, he bought the land that was to become Maumelle with a dream of establishing a new city there. He hired architects and city planner to create a master plan. Odom sold the land to developers in 1982 for $6.3 million. While a wide array of developers owned the property before it was developed, Odom's original plan from 1969 remained with few changes. In 1985, Maumelle was incorporated as a city and in 1987 Odom was proclaimed the city's founder in a Founder's Day celebration at City Hall. Odom found time for civic involvement and served on several boards including Ouachita University in Arkadelphia, Campus Crusade for Christ in San Bernadino, Calif., and the Boy Scouts of America.