In the roughly 200 years of Missouri being a state, only one person has ever held the offices of both Missouri House speaker and Senate president pro tem. That person is the late Ron Richard. The accomplishment has landed the Joplin Republican a spot in the Hall of Famous Missourians.
A statue of Richard now joins the lineup of 52 other famous Missourians, such as President Harry Truman, writer Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Legendary Mizzou basketball coach Norm Stewart, longtime “Price Is Right” host Bob Barker, and newsman Walter Cronkite.
“To be in such an esteemed group of famous Missourians, Thomas Hart Benton, Jack Buck, Mark Twain, President Harry S. Truman and many others, is an amazing tribute to a man who only wanted to do what was right for Missouri,” said Richard’s wife Patty. “He never entered politics to serve himself. He wanted to serve the people of Missouri and create a strong economy, providing more opportunities for our citizens.”
During a ceremony Monday at the state Capitol, friends and family gathered to reminisce about the man who was known for his love of the Missouri Capitol, his state, and his community. House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, secured the spot in the hall.
“It’s an obvious choice,” said Plocher. “He lived up to his word. He’d offer his free advice, which was awesome. He reminded me a lot of my father. His commitment to public service, though, was exemplary. His loyalty to Missouri, his loyalty to Joplin. He had a vast amount of experience to offer some advice. And with term limits today, we definitely needed Ron.”
Ron Richard’s family unveils bust (Photo by Missourinet)
Richard loved the Capitol so much that he held weekly history lessons about the building while he served as House speaker. Guests talked about Richard’s respect for the institution and his pursuit to preserve it.
“When he was first elected, he wanted to know everything about the Capitol – the architecture, those that walked the Capitol halls before him, the traditions. He wanted everyone to hold it in the highest regard,” said Mrs. Richard.
Former state Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, served with Richard in both chambers. He said Richard deserves to be in the hall.
“Oh my gosh, I could go on and on, but I don’t think your recorder would have enough battery. Ron came to this great building and these offices that he held here with such great respect for the state and this building. Ron, such a brilliant guy, that somehow he had the knack of knowing when to do certain things, which way to turn and which way not to turn to get things done. But his respect for this building is one thing that I’ll always remember,” he said.
Former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, served as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He worked with Richard to fund a major renovation of the Capitol.
“This is the people’s Capitol, and it was literally falling down,” Schaefer told Missourinet. “The basement would fill with water. The steps were cracking and parts of the building actually were cordoned off because pieces were falling off -plaster. They were dangerous and Ron cared very much about that. I worked with him extensively to get the funding to fix that.”
Schaefer also worked with Richard to help Joplin recover from the 2011 tornado that killed at least 158 people.
“He came to our appropriations committee and said, ‘We’ve got Missourians who need X, Y and Z.’ We figured out what those resource needs were, and we did it. You know, that’s leadership. Leadership is identifying where the top priorities are, where people need help the most, and then stepping forward and getting everyone around you to do what needs to be done. That’s a tremendous testament to his character.”
Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, called Richard “the king of economic development.”
“One former mayor said he never met an economic development program that he didn’t like,” said Roberts. “And after the tornado struck, I assure you that it was him who was responsible for much of the aid that came to us.”
Gov. Mike Parson served with Richard in both chambers. He referred to Richard as “Ronnie.” Parson said if it wasn’t for “Ronnie”, he probably wouldn’t be governor today.
Gov. Mike Parson, Patty Richard, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe (Photo by Tim Bommel, House Communications)
How so? It goes back to the race for Senate majority floor leader. The race was between Richard and Parson.
“This guy had more friends and more people that were loyal to him, and I thought maybe if I could pick off a few of them, I might just be able to win. Well, that didn’t work out so good,” said Parson. “But as Patty said, Ronnie kind of took one for the team, because now I’m the governor, and he didn’t have to do all that stuff.”
They became closer friends after Richard became majority floor leader.
“It wasn’t like there was hard feelings about it. I was really worried about it. Would you be the outcast person after you do something like that and you run against somebody like him? It was just the opposite. Ronnie was open hands and says, ‘What do you want to do, Parson?’ And he let me do everything I asked to do because he was loyal from that day when I run for governor, lieutenant governor. He was one of the biggest supporters that I had,” said Parson.
Patty said her husband set a great example to many.
“Ron was one of a kind,” she said. “He could make you laugh. He could make you feel special, support you, and stand up for you when no one else would.”
Richard made history as the first speaker in 100 years to join the Missouri Senate.
“Ron made so many wonderful friends from both sides of the aisle who became his lifelong friends. Trust was the foundation for their friendships. When they gave their word to each other, they could be trusted to stay truthful. Their word was their bond,” said Mrs. Richard.
Richard, who died in 2023, did not shy away from telling lawmakers to dress in a professional manner.
“Shoes shined, ties straight, clothes pressed, and certainly no jeans. That was, after all, the Missouri State Capitol,” said Mrs. Richard.
Munzlinger said he was only scolded once by Richard for his clothing.
“That was part of his respect,” said Munzlinger.
Ron Richard was a man of few words, but he was not bashful about speaking his mind.
“You can take the man out of the bowling alley but you can’t take the bowling alley out of the man,” said Governor-elect Mike Kehoe.
Kehoe served in the Senate alongside Richard – a longtime bowling alley owner. Kehoe, a fellow Republican, was majority floor leader when Richard served as the speaker pro tem.
Kehoe will become Missouri’s 58th governor in January. He said his win was for Ron.
The Hall of Famous Missourians can be found on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol Rotunda. Additional statues are also found on the second floor near the Governor’s Office.
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