Jesse Ray LaFollette

Jesse Ray LaFollette, 81, of Lathrop, MO, passed away Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

He was born October 30, 1932 to Edward Ellsworth LaFollette and Anna Margaret (Snyder) LaFollette in Frazier, Missouri.  He moved with his family to California in 1938 and was baptized at the Chevy Chase Baptist Church in Glendale.  He graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in 1951 and attended Washington State where he played football.  He graduated from the University of California Polytechnic at San Luis Obispo in 1956 with a degree in Animal Husbandry.

On September 4, 1953 he was united in marriage to Judith Eileen Benson at Zion Lutheran Church in Glendale.  Jess worked as a landscaper in California.  In 1959 they moved from California to Gower, Missouri where they lived and worked on the farm belonging to Jesse’s father.  Jesse also worked as an Ironworker out of Kansas City Ironworker’s Local #10 from 1966 until his retirement in 1987.  He spoke often and fondly of the friends he made and his experiences on the job.  In 1967 the family moved to Lathrop, where they purchased a farm.  It was on the farms that they raised their four children and built their life together.  Jesse was a farmer by vocation and was a founding member of Hope Lutheran Church.   

He loved his wife, children, children-in-law, grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as his extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends.  He was a lover of people, of the land and looked forward to the coming of spring each year.  He enjoyed fishing with his kids and grandkids, traveling, and eating a good tenderloin sandwich.  He loved big gatherings of family and friends, especially holidays.  He loved laughing and sharing stories of his adventures and of people that he had met along the way.  He had a profound faith in his Lord and was, in the end, at peace.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, his parents, and his brothers, Jim and Jerry LaFollette. 

Jesse is survived by his son, Stanley LaFollette and wife Sandra, Park Hills, MO; daughter Gale Moore and husband Mike, Blue Springs, MO; son Eric LaFollette and wife Brenda, St Joseph, MO; daughter Melissa LaGue and husband John, Lee’s Summit, Mo; seven grandchildren, Deama, Christopher, Nicole, Laura, Rachel, Jennifer and Jack; and eleven great grandchildren, Johnny, Micah, Dylan, Kortni, Kyle, Krystall, Jesse, Gavin, Tyler, Maddox and Abigail.  He is also survived by his aunt, Violet Whitson, St Joseph, MO, sister-in-law, Dorothy LaFollette, St. Joseph, MO; sister-in-law, Jean Alexander and husband Gerald Alexander, Winston, OR; brother-in-law, Bill Benson and wife Judy of Partridge, KS, brother-in-law, Don Knosp, Groveland, CA; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.  

Funeral Services: 1:30 p.m. Sunday April 6^th at Hixson-Klein Funeral Home, Gower

Burial:  Frazier Cemetery

Visitation: 6:00-8:00 p.m. Saturday April 5^th at the funeral hom