Former Missouri Rep. Mel Hancock dies

Mel Hancock, who represented the Seventh District of Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives 1989-97, died Sunday morning in his sleep at his Springfield home. He was 82.

Hancock is survived by his wife, Alma, and three children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been set, according to Springfield Business Journal's media partner KSPR.

Hancock is perhaps best known for authoring the Hancock Amendment to the Missouri Consitution, approved by voters in 1980. The amendment prevented the state government from raising residents' income taxes without voter approval.

In 1969, Hancock co-founded Springfield-based Federal Protection Inc., a banking securities company still in operation. In an April 2011 filing with the secretary of state, Hancock was listed as a member of the company's board of directors. Hancock's son, Kim Hancock, serves as president and CEO of the company, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Mel Hancock, who was born in Cape Fair in 1929, received his bachelor's degree from Missouri State University in 1951 and served in the U.S. Air Force 1951-53 and the Air Force Reserve 1953-65, according to a biography posted on Congress' Web site.

In the 2010 election, Hancock endorsed Billy Long for the same position he held several years ago.
[[In-content Ad]]