OPINION|
I have only a vague recollection of how the question of where John Q. Hammons is buried arose.
It was not an Answer Man query. The subject, instead, came up in our newsroom; I seem to recall CEO David Stoeffler and Managing Editor Rance Burger were involved.
To be clear, we don't have staff meetings discussing where famous people are buried.
In our collective memories, it didn't seem to us that Hammons, noted developer and hotelier, was buried locally, say at Maple Park or Hazelwood cemeteries.
Springfield was Hammons' adopted hometown. A statue of him presides over the intersection of Trafficway Street and, of course, John Q. Hammons Parkway. It's not that far from Hammons Field.
His actual first name is ‘Jim,' not ‘John'
To answer the question, I went to my go-to online source for finding the whereabouts of dead people: findagrave.com. But I found no listing for John Quentin Hammons, born in 1919 and died in 2013.
I now know why. “John” is not actually his first name. His first name is “James.”
It's James Quentin “John” Hammons. My best guess is that since his father was “James,” too, he gravitated toward “John.”
John Q. and his wife — Juanita Kathleen Baxter Hammons — are buried side-by-side in a small rural cemetery outside the tiny town of Fairview, in Newton County.
It's just the two of them. Juanita and John Q. did not have children.
Their gravesite in Dice Cemetery was easy to find. It's not that it's as large or as extravagant as, say, Hammons Tower, which longtime News-Leader columnist Hank Billings called the “Darth Vader Building.” Henry Damon “Hank” Billings died in 2017; he's buried in Hazelwood Cemetery.
The Hammons' burial site is the only one at Dice Cemetery bordered by a short, ornamental iron fence. There's a big marker with “Hammons” carved into it.
A short biography carved in stone
Another marker gives a history of Hammons' life and explains why he is buried here. I have to admit, I've written stories that had fewer words than the number of words carved into the marker. Good thing no corrections were needed.
“James Quentin (John Q.) Hammons was born in 1919 on a farm west of Fairview, Missouri. He attended and graduated from Fairview High School and often returned to attend school reunions. Quentin, as his school mates referred to him, grew up poor and like many of the era the family farm was lost to the Great Depression.
“At that time, he swore he would never be poor again. As a young man, he attended Southwest Missouri Teachers College, which is now Missouri State University of Springfield, Missouri. Upon graduating, he taught science, history and coached junior high basketball before going to work on the Alaskan highway.
“After working on the highway, Hammons started exploring other occupations that eventually led him to building housing subdivisions, before purchasing 10 Holiday Inn franchises in 1958. He went on to build 200 hotels nationwide, including Embassy Suites, Marriott, Radisson and Holiday Inns. He also developed golf courses, restaurants and convention centers with locations in college towns and state capitols. He developed 210 hotel properties in 40 states.
“Along the way he donated millions of dollars to local hospitals, colleges, and public television. His name graces many buildings and streets and his legacy is on full display in his adopted hometown of Springfield, Missouri. He saw a need in Fairview for a Community Center which he funded and built in the city park located on Main Street.
“Hammons was a giant in the hospitality industry and was unwavering in his commitment to exceptional quality service and giving back to the community.
Hammons once said, ‘Whenever you can be successful in a community it cannot be without cooperation and support. Everyone needs to register that sincerity and try to return a little bit.'”
Is the Hammons Community Center still standing in tiny Fairview?
On my return trip, I decided that since I was all the way out here in Newton County, not that far from Joplin, I would see if the Fairview community center was still standing. I figured if it was, it wouldn't be hard to find. The population of Fairview is 303.
The center still stands, not far from the shadow of a Fairview water tower. It's good-sized and appears to be in good shape. It's in a part of town that is not in such good shape.
The Fairview Public Library, which is about the size of a one-car garage, is nearby.
The center was closed when I visited Thursday. But I could see a photo of the benefactor through the locked glass doors. Hammons remembered his humble roots in life as well as in death.
This is Pokin Around column No. 153.
