The Passing of a Friend and Ledgend

[Bill Gulley]

RIP John Q. Hammons, 1919-2013

Most here probably don't know of this man, Known as John Q. he passed away last night in his home. He was a small town boy from Fairview, Missouri who became a real estate ledgend. He attended college with my father and they were faternity brothers, both starting out as teachers. John left teaching getting into depevlopments and as a teenager I worked on a few of his sites. He made his first million while he was in his 30s.

In 1969 he was in hotel development and through his dedication and hard work was named by Forbes in fewer than 20 years as being one of the top 400 richest men in the country. His hotel developments covered 42 states and known for grand projects, the crown jewel of his hotels, as he referred to it, being the Chateau on the Lake near Branson, Mo. (As grand as anything you're likely to see).

In the 90s I had the opportunity to work with him along with other lenders in financing transaction for and with John. While he was demanding he was one of the most fair and honest men I have ever been around. He always had a smile for everyone and was very approachable. There couldn't have been a better mentor who had no secret for his success as he'd say "all it takes is money and guts and I have plenty of both", yes, he was overweight, a bit of his humor.

John and his wife never had children and he adopted all of Springfield. Two large arenas and dorms at two colleges, 3 high end residential subdivisions, our first highrise, the federal courthouse, the Cardinal baseball park, theater for the arts, water fountains for the city, I just can't name them all. The man changed lives with his charitable giving and through his business ethic.

There may not be much written about his business, I'm sure projects and developments can be found but his personal side would certainly demonstrate the path to follow for any investor in real estate. Hopefully more will be written about this man. A class act! Thank you for all you did John, you will be missed and not forgotten.