Dr. John Thomas Witherspoon

1947 - 2017

Dr. John Thomas Witherspoon

Dr. John Thomas Witherspoon, 70, Springfield, MO passed away Thursday, July 27, 2017 in Barnes Jewish Christian Hospital in St. Louis, MO, after a long battle with heart disease.

John was born June 25, 1947 to Warren Thomas and Kathryn Witherspoon. He graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1965. He graduated from Southwest Missouri State with a Master's in Life Sciences and Ecology in 1971. He received his Doctorate from the University of Montana in 1975.

John and Frances Teeter were married in William's Chapel at College of the Ozarks on June 12, 1971.

After his graduation in 1975, he took a position at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in Panama Canal Zone as Curator of Balboa Height's Herbarium. He returned to Springfield to a job with the City of Springfield. In 1978, he moved to City Utilities where he worked until 2001. He retired as Manager of Water Treatment and Supply. After his retirement, he created his own consulting firm, Witherspoon Consulting, where he performed risk assessments for other water utilities in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean until 2008.

During his career, he received several significant awards including the George Warren Distinguished Service Award to the Water Supply field-1999, an award from the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks for his distinguished services-2001, and from the Department of Natural Resources, 12 years as Chair of Safe Water Drinking Water Commission-2007.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Tommy and Katie Witherspoon, Fran's parents, Cletus and Mary Teeter, and brother-in-law, Bill Dodds.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Fran; sisters, Linda Dodds and Karen Witherspoon; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, David and Sherry O'Dell and their children and grandchildren; and many, many lifelong friends.

Memorial services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 2, 2017 in Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home with Reverend Phil Snider officiating. A celebration reception will follow at the Club House at Cooper Estates. Donations may be made to The Nature Conservatory, Attn: Treasury, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 or the Springfield Nature Center, 4601 South Nature Center Way, Springfield, MO 65804.