Billy Lee "Bill" Ransdall

Billy Lee “Bill” Ransdall, son of the late William Russell and Marjorie Leola (Roach) Ransdall, was born March 16, 1947 in Waynesville, Missouri. Bill grew up in Waynesville and graduated from the Waynesville R-VI High School with the Class of 1965. He went on to further his education by attending the University of Missouri at Rolla, Missouri. On May 21, 1967, Bill was united in marriage to Patricia Ann Fulbright at the United Methodist Church in Stoutland, Missouri. They shared over fifty-one years of marriage together and they were blessed with two daughters: LeAnne and Amy. In 1967, Bill attended the Mohler Barber School in St. Louis, Missouri. He became a barber and was co-owner of City Barber Shop of Waynesville along with Dale Breedlove. In 1970, Bill was awarded the government barber contract on Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Riley, Kansas. He kept this contract for seven years and was again offered the contract. However, his mind was now focused on his civic duty. In 1976, Bill held his first elected position. He was elected to the Waynesville City Council and continued to serve until 1988, both as a councilman and later as Mayor. In 1978, Bill and his father, along with 1300 people, applied for the Coors Distributorship in Missouri. They were successfully awarded a distributorship which was titled Ransdall Distributing and was located in Rolla, Missouri. This business was eventually expanded to a recycling operation in conjunction with the distributorship. Bill continued to stay involved in politics and in 1981 Bill was appointed by Governor Kit Bond to redistrict the House of Representatives for the state of Missouri. In 1985, Bill and his father sold Coors and expanded the recycling side of the business, which was named Ransdall Recycling. Bill again expanded into a new business venture, American Brass and Copper. They handled government contracts for deconstruction of many government facilities. Some of the larger contracts they were awarded were to scrap out the Hoover Dam in Las Vegas and the Minute Man missile silos in North and South Dakota, along with several sub stations in Arizona. These jobs were completed and the materials were transported on flatbed trucks and dismantled at the recycling facilities in Rolla. In 1988, Bill began broadening his political aspirations. He ran for and was elected Mayor of the City of Waynesville and served until 1996. During his term as Mayor, Bill was appointed to the Committee to recommend the congressional districts to the President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney and Marshall for Western Missouri in 1993 by Congressman Ike Skelton. In 1994, Bill and Pat purchased a farm and began a cow/calf operation. The farm gave Bill the opportunity to continue to his love of the outdoors as he has been an avid hunter all of his life. On the farm, he enjoyed hunting with his kids and grandkids. He especially enjoyed watching them grow their love for hunting, fishing, conservation and care of the land. He also instilled his love of business and taught those lessons to the grandchildren in the form of care for the land itself and the cattle that live on the farm. Bill continued his love of politics and his desire to serve. In 1996, he ran for and was elected as State Representative for the 148th District. During his term, of 1996-2004, Bill quickly rose to leadership. He served as Chairman of Energy and Environment, Assistant Minority Floor Leader, and as Chairman of Appropriations for Economic and Natural Resources, where he was responsible for bringing 53 million dollars to Pulaski County. After Bill was term limited out of the office, he returned to Waynesville where he again had a desire to serve his local community. In 2006, Bill ran and was elected as Presiding Commissioner for Pulaski County. He served in this capacity until 2009. One of the first things he faced in his new position was a crippling ice storm. After which he was able to assure disaster relief funding from both SEMA and FEMA to restore the local community. Bill continued to grow his business initiatives and returned to his knowledge of the importance of recycling. He became co-owner of Rastur Development and their main line of work was to recycle materials from the housing development on Fort Leonard Wood. In 2004, he and his partners also bought the Norvi-Faulkner apartment complexes. In 2009, Bill was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon to sit on the Missouri State Tax Commission and was then moved to the Department of Economic Development as the Community Development Specialist where he continued to serve until he retired in February 2017. Among his many business endeavors and elected positions, Bill has served our community in many other ways. He was a member of the Waynesville Masonic Lodge #375 AF & AM, and Valley of Joplin Scottish Rite 32nd Degree, coronated as a Knight Commander Court of Honor, and member of Abou Ben Adhem Shrine in Springfield, Missouri. Bill was one of the original founders of the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Turkey Federation. He was a lifetime member of the AUSA (Association of the United States Army and served as Chair for a number of years, to include being a chapter President of the Fort Leonard Wood chapter and serving as a Regional AUSA President which gave him a seat on the Board of Trustees in Arlington, Virginia. He was awarded two very prestigious civilian awards: the Col. Ed Ousley AUSA Award and a Department of the Army Meritorious Public Service Medal. Bill was also a long time member of the Committee of 50, where he served in many leadership positions. He was one of the founders of the Fort Leonard Wood Institute, the SOP, and has helped organize these entities as a member of the board. Bill served in many positions, both elected and as a volunteer, to support the mission and vision of Fort Leonard Wood and the surrounding community. He believed in supporting the active duty military, the dependents, and the retirees of the military. Bill had made a profession of faith and became a member of the Waynesville United Methodist Church on March 22, 1964. He served on various boards with the church over the last fifty-four years. After his retirement, Bill enjoyed nothing more than having his family and friends share his love of fishing and hunting. Bill passed away Monday, November 12, 2018 in his home following a courageous battle with cancer. He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife Pat of the home; two daughters: LeAnne Kristek and Amy Breeden and her husband, Kevin of Waynesville, MO; six grandchildren: Brennan, Eriq, Catherine, and Grace Kristek, and Parker and Peyton Breeden all of Waynesville, MO; as well as several other relatives and many friends. Bill has spent most of his adult life serving the public. He truly loved helping the people of the community as a whole and he will truly be missed. Services were held at 12:00 p.m. Friday, November 16, 2018 in the Waynesville United Methodist Church of Waynesville with Chaplain Patrick Moore, Rev. Richard Breeden and Pastor Lindsay Walters officiating. The Honorable Jay Nixon, 55th Governor of the State of Missouri and The Honorable Phil Tate, Former Missouri State Representative recalled their wonderful memories of Bill. Pianist Cheryl Wood accompanied Soloist Mike Freeman as he sang “Amazing Grace” and “The Old Rugged Cross”. Serving as escorts were Keith Pritchard, Mike Dunbar, Matt Blackburn, Dorsey Newcomb, Bob Chapman, Pat Fincher, Terry Maglich and Don Wilson. Serving as honorary escorts were Phil Tate, Gerald Ross, Andy Dalton, Doug Weidner, Don McCulloch, Loring Helfrich, Bob Baker, Wayne Crump and Joe Driskill. Burial followed in the Waynesville Memorial Park Cemetery of Waynesville. Services were under the direction of Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville / St. Robert. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in memory of Bill Ransdall to the Waynesville R-VI School District Foundation or the American Cancer Society and may be left at Memorial Chapels & Crematory, 202 Historic 66 West, Waynesville, MO 65583.

Billy Lee "Bill" Ransdall

March 16, 1947 - November 12, 2018