John R. Pillion

John R. Pillion, Congressman from New York

John Raymond Pillion (August 10, 1904 – December 31, 1978) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.

Pillion was born in Conneaut, Ohio. He received a law degree from Cornell University in 1927. He practiced in Erie County, New York, and served as a city court judge of Lackawanna, New York from 1932 until 1936. He was Lackawana's corporation counsel and tax attorney from 1936 to 1941. He was president and treasurer of Buffalo's Bison Storage & Warehouse Corporation and the owner and operator of a fruit and vegetable farm in Niagara County. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1941 until 1950. He was elected to Congress in 1952 and served from January 3, 1953 until January 3, 1965. In Congress, he was most notable as an opponent of statehood for both Hawaii and Alaska. He unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 1964 against Richard D. McCarthy. He retired to Hamburg, and died in Eden on December 31, 1978.

References

• John R. Pillion at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• John R. Pillion at Find a Grave