John Jacob Rhodes III was born to John Jacob and Mary Betty (Harvey) Rhodes on September 8, 1943 in Mesa, Arizona. He graduated from the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland in 1961 and went on to earn his B.A. from Yale University in 1965 and his J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1968. He was admitted to the Arizona Bar in the same year and commenced practice in Mesa, Arizona. Rhodes served as a Captain in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. After returning to the U.S., he served as the Republican District Chairman (1972-1982), as a member of the Mesa Board of Education (1973-1976), and with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (1983-1986) before being elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1987. During his term in Congress, Rhodes was particularly concerned with land and water issues. He was re-elected to the 101st (1989-1990) and 102nd (1991-1992) Congresses but was unseated by Sam Coppersmith in the 1992 elections. Rhodes remained in Washington, where he worked as a government relations attorney until his death on January 20, 2011.
From the guide to the Preliminary Inventory of the John J. Rhodes III Papers, 1975-1995, 1987-1992, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)
