James Spainhower (August 3, 1928 – December 12, 2018) was an American Democratic politician from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He served four terms in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from 1963 to 1970 and two terms as the State Treasurer of Missouri from 1973 to 1981.

Early life

Jim Spainhower was born in

Stanberry, Missouri Stanberry is a city in Gentry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,129 at the 2020 census. History Stanberry was platted in 1879 when the railroad was extended to that point. The community was named for J. J. Stanberry, origin ...

, the youngest of fourteen children. He attended an elementary school in Stanberry, and attended Maryville High School in

Maryville, Missouri Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home ...

, graduating in 1946. Following graduation from high school, he attended

Phillips University Phillips University was a private university in Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university ...

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma, Garfield County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the openin ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

in 1950. Three years later, in 1953, he earned a bachelor's degree in divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary. On June 10, 1950, he married the former Joanne Steanson of

Ponca City, Oklahoma Ponca City () is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 24,424 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 25,387 at the tim ...

. The couple has two children. Prior to entering politics, he served as an ordained

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

minister, serving pastorates in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

Marshall, Missouri Marshall is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,806 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. The Marshall Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Saline County. It is home to Missouri V ...

, Bosworth, Missouri,

Mendon, Missouri Mendon is a city in western Chariton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 163 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is 21 miles northwest of the county seat Keytesville, Missouri, Keytesville and 13 miles north of Brun ...

, Grand Pass, Missouri and

Oakland, Missouri Oakland is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 census As of the ...

. He received both his master's degree and Ph.D in Political Science from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, as well as numerous honorary doctorates from colleges and universities throughout the country. Jim's brother, John Spainhower, a long-time coach and athletic director at

Kirksville Kirksville is the county seat of and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirk ...

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

is a member of the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Political career

From 1963 to 1970, Spainhower served in the

, where he was a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the House Education Committee. During his tenure in the state legislature, he also earned master's and doctoral degrees in political science from the

. In 1972, he was elected as State Treasurer of Missouri, and served in that post from 1973 to 1981. Unable to seek a third term as State Treasurer in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, he was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, losing the Democratic Party nomination to incumbent Joseph P. Teasdale. Spainhower threw his hat into the ring for the 1976 United States Senate election in Missouri after the initial Democratic nominee

Jerry Litton Jerry Lon Litton (May 12, 1937 – August 3, 1976) was an American politician from Missouri who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Missouri's 6th congressional district from 1973 until his death in ...

was killed while flying to the victory party. On August 21, the Democratic state committee selected Warren E. Hearnes as the replacement nominee over Spainhower by a 38 to 22 vote. Hearnes lost the general election to

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

who garnered 56.9% of the vote.

Later career

Following his tenure as State Treasurer, Spainhower held the posts of President of the

College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a Private college, private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri, United States. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs. The colleg ...

Point Lookout, Missouri Point Lookout is an unincorporated community in Oliver Township, Taney County, Missouri, United States, near Branson and Hollister. Point Lookout is in the U.S. postal service ZIP code 65726. Point Lookout is part of the Branson Micropolitan ...

, President of

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...

and President of the Division of Higher Education for the

denomination. He and his wife subsequently moved to

Rogers, Arkansas Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose cor ...

, where he served as an interim pastor at several churches in

Bella Vista, Arkansas Bella Vista is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 30,102 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 32,368 in 2023. The community has taken advantage of the natural setting within the Springfield Plateau of t ...

Harrison, Arkansas The city of Harrison is the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek (Arkansas), Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Cen ...

and

Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...

. He and his wife lived in

Raymore, Missouri Raymore is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States, within the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Population estimates recently released by the US Census show that from July 2022 to July 2023, Raymore was the fastest growing city in the state ...

until the time of his death.Obituary , James I. Spainhower of Raymore, Missouri , Cullen Funeral Home, Inc.
Retrieved 2019-04-12.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spainhower, Jim 1928 births 2018 deaths State treasurers of Missouri Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Presidents of Lindenwood University College of the Ozarks Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergy American Disciples of Christ Protestants from Missouri Protestants from Arkansas Phillips University alumni University of Missouri alumni College of the Ozarks alumni Lexington Theological Seminary alumni People from Gentry County, Missouri People from Maryville, Missouri People from Raymore, Missouri People from Rogers, Arkansas 20th-century American clergy 20th-century Disciples of Christ 20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly