{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = File:1953 John Eliot Yerxa Massachusetts House of Representatives.png | caption = Yerxa c. 1953 | image_size = | name = John Yerxa | birth_date = April 23, 1904 | birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = June 22, 1967 (aged 63) | death_place = | resting_place = | website = | occupation = | party = Republican | spouse = | alma_mater = Harvard College | title = Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 3rd Suffolk District | term_start = 1957 | term_end = 1959 | predecessor = Charles John Innes | successor = Richard Caples | title2 = Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 5th Suffolk District | term_start2 = 1953 | term_end2 = 1957 | predecessor2 = Sherman Miles | successor2 = William F. Otis | title3 = Member of the Boston City Council from Ward 14 | term_start3 = 1948 | term_end3 = 1952 | predecessor3 = James C. Bayley Jr. | successor3 = Seat eliminated }} '''John Eliot Yerxa''' (April 23, 1904 – June 22, 1967) was an American politician who served on the Boston City Council, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the Massachusetts Senate.
==Early life== Yerxa was born on April 23, 1904, in Boston. He attended the Noble and Greenough School and the Berkshire School.<ref name="PublicOfficers">{{cite book|title=Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1957–58|url=https://archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19571958bost#page/78/mode/2up|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref> He graduated from Harvard College in 1926. He planned on a career in civil engineering and his first job out of college was as a draftsman for the Moffat Tunnel Commission in Denver. He returned to Boston after a few months due to a family illness and spent some time studying at Harvard Law School.<ref name=Treasurer>{{cite news|last=Bartlett|first=K.S.|title=Challenger Campaigned at 16, Served on Old Boston Council|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=October 21, 1958}}</ref>
==Business career== In 1928, Yerxa entered the brokerage business. He was associated with the firm of Townsend, Anthony, & Tyson. He became a member of the Boston Stock Exchange in 1936 and in 1937 joined its board of governors and public relations committee. In 1939 he was elected president of the exchange. At the age of 35, he was the youngest leader in the exchange's history.<ref name=BSE>{{cite news|last=Craigue|first=Paul V.|title=John Yerxa, 35, Elected to Lead Stock Exchange|newspaper=The Boston Daily Globe|date=September 26, 1939}}</ref> He retired from the Boston Stock Exchange in May 1942 to join the United States Army Air Corps.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pres. Yerxa of Stock Exchange Honored, Retires to Join Air Corps|newspaper=The Boston Daily Globe|date=May 2, 1942}}</ref> He served with the Air Transport Command at Presque Isle Air Force Base and left the service with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, he spent six years as New England regional manager of Pan American World Airways. He then served as vice president of Allied Research & Service Corp.<ref name=Treasurer />
==Personal life== In 1927, Yerxa married Constance Gilpin. She died in 1950. He later married Marjorie Speare, daughter of Frank Palmer Speare. He had one daughter by his first wife and one son and one daughter by his second wife. In 1957 he moved from Boston to Dedham, Massachusetts.<ref name=Treasurer /><ref name=Obituary />
==Political career== Yerxa's grandfather, who served on the Cambridge board of selectmen, first interested him in politics. From 1948 to 1951 he was a member of the Boston City Council. From 1953 to 1957 he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He then served one term representing the 3rd Suffolk District in the Massachusetts Senate.<ref name=PublicOfficers /> In 1958, Yerxa was the Republican nominee for state treasurer. He lost to Democratic incumbent John Francis Kennedy 62% to 37%.<ref name=General>{{cite book |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics 1958 |pages=5 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19571958mass#page/4/mode/2up }}</ref> Yerxa died on June 22, 1967.<ref name=Obituary>{{cite news|title=Business, Civic Leader John Eliot Yerxa, 63, Dedham Rites Monday|newspaper=The Daily Boston Globe|date=June 24, 1967}}</ref>
==See also== * 1953–1954 Massachusetts legislature * 1955–1956 Massachusetts legislature
==References== {{reflist}}
{{S-start}} {{S-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=Robert H. Beaudreau}} {{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts|years=1958}} {{s-aft|after=Walter J. Trybulski}} {{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerxa, John}} Category:1904 births Category:1967 deaths Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:Boston City Council members Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Republican Party Massachusetts state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Category:United States Army Air Forces officers Category:Presidents of the Boston Stock Exchange Category:20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court