Warren Hearnes, 86, former governor of Missouri, died Sunday at his home in Bootheel, said a family representative. He was the first Governor in Missouri to serve two terms from 1965 – 1973.
Gov. Jay Nixon has ordered flags at all Missouri facilities to be flown at half-mast until the date of interment. Nixon’s office release the following statement: “Early this morning, we received the sad news about the passing of one of Missouri’s true 20th Century statesman, former Governor Warren E. Hearnes.”
The Hearnes family said they take consolation in the fact that they were with him until the end and he had a rich and accomplished life.
In a Hearnes’ family release they described his many years of public service to all Missourians.
“Missourian school children receive the education they deserve, those with mental illness receive the treatment they need, our citizens experience the benefits of tourism and the arts that they want, senior citizens and those with disabilities receive the care they must have, and all of us reap the rewards of the healthy state business climate we enjoy because of the achievements of Warren Hearnes as Governor.”
His public service also included Missouri Secretary of State (1961 – 1965) and the Missouri House of Representatives from 1950 – 1961. He was also a Missouri State Official Circuit Judge in 1980.
The former Governor was a member of many professional and civic organizations including the American Legion, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Order of Elks, Freemasonry, Lions Club, Shriners and the Missouri Bar Association.
Hearnes was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1946 and served as a First Lieutenant of the U.S. Army. He was discharged in 1949. He also received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1952.
Hearnes is survived by his wife, Betty Sue Hearnes; his children Lynn Hearnes, Leigh Hammond (husband-Cary), and Julie (Julie B) Hearnes-Sindelar (husband Dan), all of St. Louis; his grandchildren Clayton Hammond, Catherine Hammond, Andrew Sindelar, and Britten Sindelar.
Funeral arrangements include the body will lie in State in the Rotunda from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wednesday, August 19, with State Funeral Service with Military Honors at 2 p.m. in the Rotunda.
The body will be returned to Governor Hearnes’ southeast Missouri hometown of Charleston for a visitation from 5 - 8 p.m., Thursday, August 20, at the First Baptist Church, 301 South Main Street., Charleston, Mo. The Charleston funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Friday, August 21, at the First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the Hearnes family has requested memorial donations to the First Baptist Church Building Fund.
Maryville, Mo. —
