W.E. Knox was well remembered by family, students, and friends last weekend during the dedication of a county building renamed in his honor.

The former Jones County Civic Center was named in honor of William Elijah Knox July 10 by the Board of Commissioners and was dedicated last Saturday.

Commission Chairman Preston Hawkins welcomed the scores of people who gathered Nov. 17 to honor the former Jones County school superintendent and mayor of Gray.

The crowd included Knox’s three daughters, Betty Knox Crossan, Billy Ann Knox Phillips, and Allyce Knox Knorr, who grew up in Gray.

Hawkins first spoke about Sam Kelly and his campaign to have the building renamed for Knox. Kelly was assisted by Charlotte Wilson with petitions and said everyone he talked to about Knox had a story about how he had helped them.

“I wish I had written all those stories down. Mr. Knox was a good fellow,” Kelly said.

Hawkins said he was the only member of the current board of commissioners who remembered Knox, but he was proud that all the commissioners voted to honor him.

“I found out Mr. Knox was the chairman of the building committee that constructed this building,” Hawkins said.

Knox was the Jones County school superintendent for 32 years and the building was erected during his tenure. The superintendent is credited with engineering the county system from one room schools to a modern system for the day.

When he was elected superintendent, Knox was the youngest in the state, and he held the longest tenure in the state when defeated by Linton Jordan in 1964.

Knox also served as the mayor of the City of Gray for 14 years. He was elected mayor in 1950 and served until 1959 when he did not run for re-election. In 1960 the term of the mayor was changed to four years, and he ran again and was re-elected. Knox was serving his 14th year as mayor when he died in 1965.

Hawkins said he never remembered seeing Knox without a white shirt and tie. He said, when Knox was the school superintendent no security, was needed in the schools.

“He was the law,” the chairman remembered with a grin.

Jim Moughon had fond memories of Knox and his entire family.

“He was a great superintendent and one of my father’s best friends. I remember when I was 10 years old my mother had a life-threatening illness. The Knox family took me in while my father sat by her bedside,” Moughon said.

Berta Morton said Knox hired her as teacher.

“He gave teachers such an address that you wanted to teach your life away to please him,” she said.

Knorr and her sisters thanked the county for honoring her father and said he would have loved the ceremony.

“Daddy would have been shaking everyone’s hand and asking you to vote for something,” she said.