John William Walton, Jr.

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John William Walton, Jr. (1915–1988) was a noted Tennessee businessman and highway contractor. He founded Walton Construction Company in 1956 and was innovative in construction techniques. He came from a prominent Tennessee and Alabama family as his great grandfathers were John William Walton of Alabama and Governor William Trousdale of Tennessee. His career began as a Ford Dealer in Franklin, Tennessee in 1939. This was ended by the Second World War where he designed aircraft at Vultee in Nashville and worked on the P-38 project. After the war, he founded John W. Walton Jr. Contracting company which was involved in the manufacture of concrete products and excavation. In 1956 he formed Walton Construction Company to bid on Federal Aid projects in the states of Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. An avid golfer, he also constructed or managed the building of numerous golf courses in Tennessee. Married to Hautense Akin Walton, they had four children, John W. Walton, III, Judith Gray Walton (Smith), Elizabeth Akin Walton (Creighton),and James Edward Walton.