constitutional convention of 1953, which submitted several important changes to the voters for approval, most notably extension of the gubernatorial term from two to four years, and the repeal of the state's poll tax. McCord also served in the cabinet of Governor Frank G. Clement as Commissioner of Conservation, from 1953 to 1958. In 1958, at the age of 79, McCord ran for governor as an independent against the Democratic nominee, Buford Ellington, his former campaign manager and fellow Clement cabinet official. McCord received just 32% to Ellington's 58%. McCord died in Nashville on September 2, 1968, at the age of 89, a decade after his last run for the governorship. At the time of his death, he was the third oldest governor in Tennessee history, behind John I. Cox and Tom Rye, both of whom lived to age 90. Winfield Dunn has since surpassed their ages. McCord is buried in Lone Oak Cemetery in Lewisburg. Family and legacy McCord had a twin brother, Ed, who died at a relatively young age. His father, Thomas, fought for the Confederacy under General Nathan B. Forrest during the Civil War, and suffered a wound that required the amputation of part of his leg. Thomas McCord was married twice before marrying Iva Steele, and Jim Nance McCord had several half-siblings from these first two marriages. McCord married Vera Kercheval in 1901. In 1954, a year after her death, he married Sula (Tatum) Sheeley. In 1967, after the death of his second wife, he married Nell (Spence) Estes. McCord had no children. Buildings on the campuses of Austin Peay State University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Memphis, Tennessee Technological University, Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee at Martin, have been named in honor of McCord. See also List of governors of Tennessee References External links Jim Nance McCord – entry at the National Governors Association Portrait painting of Governor McCord – Tennessee Portrait Project Portrait photograph of Governor McCord – Tennessee State Library and Archives "The Country Newspaper As a Force in the Development of Agriculture" – 1913 speech by McCord Governor Jim Nance McCord Papers, 1945 - 1949, Tennessee State Library and Archives Governors of Tennessee State cabinet secretaries of Tennessee Mayors of places in Tennessee People from Bedford County, Tennessee 1879 births 1968 deaths American Presbyterians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives