James Edwin Horton Jr. of Greenbrier, 85, died Saturday in Birmingham, remembered as a “true country gentleman.”

Horton, who served in the Alabama Senate from 1963 to 1968, was said by his family to have continued his father, Judge James E. Horton’s fight for justice and equality for all people.

Judge Horton is renowned for his 1933 granting of a defense motion to set aside the rape conviction of Haywood Patterson, one of the nine so-called Scottsboro Boys accused of raping two white women on a train. The ruling cost Judge Horton his career when he lost his next election.

His son was born March 31, 1923, in Athens, to Judge Horton and Anna Hobbs Horton.

A farmer and cattleman for his entire life, Horton often said how fortunate he was that his “vocation was his avocation.” He lived most of his life in Greenbrier, surrounded by his farm, his family, and his friends—the things that were most valuable to him.

Above all else, Horton was known for his honesty and integrity. He was a kind, gentle man who had a strong love and appreciation for life.

Horton was a captain in the U.S. Army and served his country until 1946, when he returned home and married Ann Williams. He then went back to the University of Tennessee to finish his degree in animal husbandry and returned to the farm in Greenbrier where his father raised crops and Angus cattle. After the judge’s death, Horton continued farming and enjoyed the addition of his son-in-law, Gregg Blythe, to the family farming business.

Horton was a past president and lifelong member of the Athens Rotary Club. He served as president of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the Alabama Angus Association and the American Angus Association. He was inducted into the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame and the Angus Heritage Foundation. He was a longtime director of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association in Decatur, and he was a faithful member of Belle Mina Methodist Church in Belle Mina for more than 60 years.

His wife of 20 years, Mary Alice Horton, called her late husband “a true country gentleman.”

“I feel so very fortunate to have had 20 years of marriage to such a wonderful man,” said Mrs. Horton. “He was a true country gentleman and loved farming, looking after his cattle and cotton. He was also so civic minded, serving on the hospital board, the college foundation, and he worked with the Soil Conservation Service for about 35 years.

“When he went to Montgomery he knew he wanted to do something about getting water to Limestone County. Each summer, the wells would dry up.”

Mrs. Horton said her husband was a supporter of civil rights and tried to work “to no avail” with the late Gov. George Wallace’s administration to ensure a peaceful demonstration when marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the March 7, 1965, Selma to Montgomery march.

Known as “Bloody Sunday,” voting rights marchers were violently confronted by law enforcement personnel that day.

He is predeceased by his parents, his brothers, Don B. Horton and Maclin Frierson, his wife, Ann Williams Horton, and his daughter, Jean Horton Blythe.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Alice Horton, two daughters, Susan Horton Faulkner (Charles), and Jenny Horton Robertson, both of Birmingham, his son-in-law and business partner, Gregg Blythe (Lile) of Decatur, and an adoring group of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at McConnell Funeral Home with graveside services immediately following at Athens City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, or to the Angus Foundation for the James E. Horton, Jr. Scholarship Fund, 3201 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, MO 64506.

The family wishes to extend its sincere appreciation for the loving care provided by New Beacon Hospice, the staff of the skilled nursing unit at Galleria Woods, and to special caretakers Becky Willard, Janice Thrasher and Shelby Johnson.