The good deeds of Bobby Allison, Springfield’s mysterious and reclusive philanthropist, continue even in death, according to his long-time friend Jeff Hutchens, who oversees Allison’s trust.
Allison was known for his generosity, as well as the denim bib overalls and tennis shoes he wore even to the most august soirees. He died Sept. 8, 2022 at age 74.
Even though Allison is gone, Hutchens told me July 3, the causes he supported will continue to be funded in “perpetuity.”
Hutchens, president and CEO of Hutchens Industries, made it clear to me he is still committed to Allison’s desire to remain a private man.
“You and I have had this conversation before,” Hutchens tells me.
In June of 2022, I wrote an in-depth profile of Allison, not knowing he was sick from kidney problems. It was the most unusual profile I have written because Allison declined to talk to me and he instructed his friends and those who knew him well not to talk to me.
And as a result most of them, including Hutchens, greeted me with, “thanks, but no thanks.”
In order to give away millions, you first have to make millions
One of the many Bobby Allison mysteries to me was how a man could say “leave me alone, respect my privacy” while at the same time having his name on signs throughout the city that acknowledge his benevolence. After all, he could have donated anonymously, which is very private.
You cannot walk the Missouri State University campus, for example, without seeing signs with “Betty & Bobby Allison” on them.
Betty was his mother. She died in 2002.
For someone to give away millions, you first have to make millions. How did Bobby Allison make his millions?
I was unable to discover how he got rich.
Not even his friends — those who talked to me — said they knew.
A former car salesman, he had worked since approximately 1976 in sales at Custom Protein, which blends animal and marine byproducts that are then used in pet food. The plant is in North Springfield.
The general consensus was that his wealth involved a patent he held, or once held.
If that’s true, I never found it. Patents are a matter of public record.
How come I didn't check probate earlier? Well, I forgot
I thought of Allison after a recent newsroom discussion on our top stories — as measured by page views. I was reminded that my No. 3 story since the Hauxeda went online in February 2022 was my Allison profile.
Allison died at Mercy Hospital three months after the profile of him ran. I wrote a news story about his death. That’s my No. 6 story, by the way.
At least, I hoped, my two stories made it clear that the “Bobby Allison” whose name you see in Springfield is not the “Bobby Allison” who is the retired race car driver.
But I fear I failed at this, too. On a recent Uber ride from the airport, we went past the large neon sign for the Betty & Bobby Allison Sports Town. The driver, volunteering as tour guide, told me the race car driver Bobby Allison had made Sports Town possible. I guess he just assumed Betty was the wife.
I recently did some checking on the Springfield “Bobby Allison.” I had intended to do this soon after his death but forgot — until the discussion on top stories.
I wanted to check court filings to see if his estate ended up in probate, which might provide insight to how he got rich.
And there it was on Case.net.
Filed Oct. 24, 2022, a month after he died. The “original last will and testament” of Bobby Allison — the one in Springfield who wore the denim bib overalls.
I got excited, then realized I probably wouldn't learn much
For a moment, I was excited. I told Managing Rance Editor Rance Burger I was headed to the courthouse to read it.
Then I caught myself. I reminded myself that, based on experience, I wouldn’t learn much. And I didn’t.
The last will and testament was dated Sept. 14, 2016. It makes reference to the Robert M. “Bobby” Allison Revocable Trust dated Aug. 13, 2008, which is not a public document.
One document filed after Allison died stated he owned $0 in “real property.”
How could that be? I know he owned a 2,730-square-foot house with an estimated value of $297,100, including a swimming pool and a tennis court, according to online Greene County Assessor records.
He played on that court with long-time friend and neighbor Jack Stack, CEO at SRC Holdings Corp. in Springfield. Stack had recalled for me not only what a good and caring friend Allison was, but also how he loved to pull pranks.
The explanation is that Bobby Allison did not own the home. His trust did.
Two creditors filed against Allison’s estate. The Missouri Department of Revenue filed a claim of $9,176 for taxes and a collection agency in Minnesota filed a claim for $532 on a debt owed to AT&T.
Allison’s will states the following: “All references in this Will to, or incorporation by reference of, the ‘Trust Agreement’ shall mean the James A. Moennig Revocable Trust as it exists at the time of my death.’”
I do not know the relationship between Bobby Allison and James A. Moennig.
Moennig wrote his will a month after Allison wrote his in 2016. The same attorney did both.
Moennig, of Monett, was a long-time dairy farmer in Lawrence County who died in September 2019.
I asked Hutchens who Moennig was and how he might have known Allison.
“I have never heard of that name,” Hutchens tells me.
There you have it — the mystery of Bobby Allison.
This is Pokin Around column No. 116.
