Longtime Springfield-area businessman and real estate developer Cullie Robert "Bob" Wehr Jr. died Oct. 20. He was 86.
Wehr co-founded Springfield-based Aaron's Automotive Products Inc. in 1954. In 1994, Wehr and his son, Jim, sold the company to concentrate on commercial real estate. With the help of his daughters and son, Bob Wehr then founded Wehr Properties, which now operates as Wehr Johnson Properties, according to an obituary posted on the
Web site of Greenlawn Funeral Homes.
Other companies sprouting from Wehr's business ventures include CRW Inc., a development company founded by Wehr in the 1970s; Wehr Construction, created in 2003 by Jim, Scott and Bronson Wehr; and Wehr Striping and Sealing, founded in 2010 by Scott Wehr, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
Wehr, a music lover, lends his name to Missouri State University's Wehr Band Hall, which was built in 1996 with the family's support.
"We very much appreciate the generosity and vision of Bob and Jim Wehr," John Keiser, then-president of MSU, said at the time, according to the band hall's
Web site. "Their investment in the band program will benefit musically talented young people well into the 21st century."
It wasn't Bob Wehr's first foray into entertainment. In 1999, Wehr opened Branson USA amusement park about a year after purchasing the former Mutton Hollow park at a foreclosure sale, according to
SBJ archives. He later opened White House Theatre in Branson.
According to his obituary: "Family and friends will remember Bob as a workaholic, but he also loved entertaining and was always the life of the party. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him."
Wehr is survived by his three children, Connie Johnson, Patricia Johnson and Jim Wehr; six grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; his sister, Mary Cloud; and his half-brother, David Wehr.
Funeral services were held Oct. 24 at Greenlawn Funeral Home North.[[In-content Ad]]
