Hammons' public memorial scheduled today

A public ceremony celebrating the life of Springfield businessman, hotelier and philanthropist John Q. Hammons is scheduled this afternoon.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for the 1:30-2:30 p.m. event at JQH Arena, the Missouri State University 11,000-seat facility Hammons helped build with a $30 million donation.

The ceremony also is being streamed live online at Livestream.com.

Hammons, the founder of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, died May 26 at age 94.

He was buried in a private ceremony May 29 at Dice Cemetery in his hometown of Fairview, 40 miles southeast of Joplin.

The funeral came as an unwelcome surprise to some family members and friends, who told Springfield Business Journal they weren't informed of the service.

JQH Hotels Senior Vice President and General Counsel Gregg Groves told SBJ the funeral was coordinated according to Hammons' wishes by relatives under the assistance of company CEO Jacquie Dowdy, who holds power of attorney for the hotelier.

Janet Ballew, a niece of Hammons' wife Juanita K. Hammons, said she wasn't invited to the funeral and that she didn't know of any relatives who were informed of the plans.