Tony Sexton
Anthony “Tony” Sexton (July 3, 1952 – December 19, 2020) was a member of the Scott County Board of Education and Scott County Assessor of Property. He was the incumbent Assessor of Property when he died of covid in December 2020.
Biography
Born July 3, 1952, Sexton was a lifelong resident of the Paint Rock community east of Huntsville. His parents were Floyd James Sexton (1923-2013) and Alma Lethia Newport (1921-1992). He was one of four children, with a brother and two sisters. His brother, James Marshall Sexton, was only 18 years old and a senior at Huntsville High School when he was killed in a traffic accident on October 1, 1965.
Sexton married Teresa Hall, and they had one daughter, Heather Sexton. His wife is a sister to Scott County Director of Schools Bill Hall, Scott County Commissioner Sheila Hall Buttram, and Circuit Court Clerk Jan Hall Bates Burress.
Professional life
Sexton was a business owner, establishing Sexton’s Mobil in Huntsville. Later, he worked for 26 years as a deputy Assessor of Property in Scott County government.
Board of Education
Sexton twice represented Scott County’s 3rd District — which includes Huntsville and Paint Rock — on the Board of Education. He was elected in 1990, defeating Ray Lewallen by a wide margin, and re-elected in 1992 and 1996. Later, he was elected to the school board in 2008, and won re-election in 2012. He did not seek re-election in 2016, choosing instead to run for Assessor of Property.
Assessor of Property
After 26 years as a deputy Assessor of Property, Sexton ran for the office in 2016, following the retirement of his longtime boss, Steve Thompson. He won election in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020.
Following his death in December 2020, Scott County Commission appointed Sexton’s deputy, Tiffany Jeffers, to finish his unexpired term. She won a special election in 2022, and was re-elected without opposition in 2024.
Death
Just three months into his second term as Assessor of Property, Sexton fell ill with Covid-19 and died on December 19, 2020, at age 68.
A funeral service was conducted on December 26, 2020 at Jones & Son Funeral Home in Oneida with Jason Burress and Dean Barnes officiating. Sexton was buried at Newport Cemetery in Winona.