Gov. Warren E. Hearnes
Cullum: 15785
Class: '46
Cadet Company: B2
Date of Birth: July 24, 1923
Date of Death: August 16, 2009 - View or Post a Eulogy
Warren E. Hearnes,
Missouri's first consecutive two-term governor, died Sunday at
his home. He was 86. He was born July 24, 1923, in Moline, Ill.
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1946. As a lieutenant
he broke a leg in a collision with another player during a softball
game. The fracture never healed properly, and he was given a disability
discharge in 1949.
Governor Hearnes started his political career as a Democratic state representative, served in the Legislature for 10 years, was the secretary of state and governor. He became Missouri's 46th governor in 1965. He was an advocate for more state spending for mental health, education and social services. He increased Missouri's budget for mental health, increasing it from $26 million to $86 million. He secured funding for three intensive mental health treatment centers and a alcohol and drug abuse pilot program through which 60% of the attendees remained sober. Governor Hearnes helped secure passage of a 1965 constitutional amendment that allowed governors to serve successive terms. He also signed Missouri's first civil rights act. For a brief period, he was a circuit judge in southeast Missouri. He served for 16 years as director of the Southeast Missouri Legal Services Agency in Charleston, which provides legal aid to poor people.
He is survived by his wife, Betty, his three daughters, Lynn, Leigh and Julia, and four grandchildren.
In Jefferson City, visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday in the rotunda of the State Capitol, followed by a service there at 2 p.m. In Charleston, visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church of Charleston. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the church, followed by burial at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Charleston.
