Friday, March 02, 2007

DORMAN STEELMAN, 81

Missouri politics has the Steelman family, and Dorman Steelman was its patriarch. Educated in a one-room schoolhouse on the banks of the Current River, he went on to become a state lawmaker, a circuit-court judge and a mentor to guys like Sen. Kit Bond. The Rolla Daily News has the obit:
He served as Minority Floor Leader in the House from 1960-1964. Later, he became state chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, a post he held from 1966-1968.

In 1976, Mr. Steelman was appointed by Gov. Christopher S. “Kit” Bond to be circuit judge of the 42nd Judicial Circuit. He was reelected to that post three times and served until 1994.
His daughter-in-law is Sarah Steelman, Missouri's treasurer and a good bet to be the next GOP candidate for governor.

The point goes to Smitty, who would rather not have earned it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a friend of the Steelman family since the 1960's, I will miss him very much. I came to know him as "Uncle Dorman" because of my close friendship with his nephews Glenn and Lloyd with whom Dorman would escape to the Current River or to his farm, whenever he wanted to get away from his other world. For readers familar with the upper Current River, Dorman grew up on the land located directly across from Welch Cave, between Cedar Grove and Akers. He loved that river...
It will be a somber Steelman Family reunion float trip this year, but the family will make sure the spirit of Dorman, his father Ramey, and brother Gurnell will be there.

Anonymous said...

Tom Eagleton has also passed. Point to Matt Blunt, via the News-Leader.

Anonymous said...

yo, ron:

you know it's been a year since you ax'd where rachel aram went?