and Education Council of the United States, which prepared much of the sex education curriculum then under consideration, as "a communist conspiracy". He supported a measure to withdraw state funds from school districts that followed the suggested SIEUS curriculum. State Senator Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr., of Lafayette, said that sponsors of the punitive legislation, including Knowles, were "storm troopers". Early in 1980, Knowles, with just a few weeks remaining in his state senate term, Knowles switched his party affiliation to Republican, and Governor Treen appointed Knowles as the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Knowles, however, had to retire from office after suffering a heart attack twelve days into his appointment. After he recovered, Governor Treen appointed him to the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board. Knowles was also elected to the board of directors of the Louisiana Rice Council, of which he was later the president. See also References https://archive.today/20071007190716/http://www.americanpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1321&Itemid=53 http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20060426&Kategori=OBITUARIES&Class=1&Type=CAT2000&Lopenr=604260407&Selected=4 http://www.acadiananow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20060426&Kategori=OBITUARY&Class=30&Type=CAT30200&Lopenr=604000248&Selected=4 http://www.legacy.com/theadvocate/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory- http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi External links Proclamation of Senator Jesse Knowles Day by Calcasieu Parish Poem about the Bataan Death March (1/3 of the way down the page) 1919 births 2006 deaths People from Beauregard Parish, Louisiana Politicians from Lake Charles, Louisiana Louisiana state senators Bataan Death March prisoners United States Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Louisiana Democrats Louisiana Republicans Baptists from Louisiana United States Army Air Forces soldiers Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives American torture victims Businesspeople from Louisiana 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists