Bill Foster
Longtime Springfield businessman and Foster Hospitality Group LLC President Bill Foster died July 24 of natural causes at Meyer Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital at CoxHealth, where he had been rehabilitating. He was 86.
Once called “Springfield’s best-kept secret” by manufacturing guru Jack Stack, Foster began his career at age 22 with a small laundromat on North Broadway Avenue and finished with eight Culpepper Place assisted living properties under Foster Hospitality, a 270-employee company with $6.5 million in annual payroll.
Among his contributions to the community, Foster assisted the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s campaign in 1996 to build the John Q. Hammons Enterprise Center, and the Bill Foster North and Bill Foster South meeting rooms were named in his honor.
He was honored with the Springfieldian and Missourian awards, and in 2013 he received Springfield Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement in Business Award.
Juanita K. Hammons
Eleven months after the death of hotelier John Q. Hammons, his wife of 64 years, Juanita, died April 29 at the age of 96. Juanita K. Hammons resided at The Manor at Elfindale, where she was treated for Alzheimer’s disease since 2008.
John Q. Hammons died May 26, 2013, at the age of 94. The couple had no children.
A patron of the arts, she is known as the namesake for the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts on the MSU campus, following a roughly $50 million gift to the school, which included the center’s naming rights. She was buried next to her husband at Dice Cemetery in Fairview.
Mike Fortner
Mike Fortner, co-owner of Springfield’s iconic summer treat company Pineapple Whip Inc., died Nov. 15 from complications with mantle cell lymphoma. He was 61.
A graduate of Hillcrest High School and Missouri State University, where he played football, Mike Fortner also served two terms on the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
Phil Broyles
Springfield Public Works Director Phil Broyles died of cancer March 29. He was 65.
Broyles was appointed to lead Public Works in mid-2011 after 30 years of experience with Missouri Department of Transportation.
During his tenure, Broyles oversaw the creation of the environmental services department; led Public Works to American Public Works Association accreditation; and was named a Top 10 Public Works professional of North America by APWA.
Mark Orr
Christian County Circuit Judge Mark Orr died June 1 after a battle with cancer. He was 54.
Orr was elected prosecuting attorney for Christian County in 1994 and had served as city attorney for Ozark and as municipal judge for Clever.
Orr was elected to the Christian County seat in 2006 and re-elected in 2012 for a term ending in 2018. He served in the seat until his death.
Frank Farmer
Founding Ozarks Technical Community College trustee Frank Farmer died Feb. 17 at the age 89.
Farmer held a position on the board from its 1990 inception until 2008, when he retired from his post along with founding member Don Wessel.
Farmer worked for 30 years as a reporter and editorial page designer for the Springfield News-Leader.
