May 7, 1933 ~ February 3rd, 2022
John Milton Hobbs, born May 7, 1933, passed away on February 3rd, 2022. He was a man who saw the good in people and had many talents and abilities. Having been raised on a small farm in Grundy County, Missouri, near Spickard, he learned how to tend to sheep, help with the farm chores, hunt, fish, and repair most anything—including cars and farm equipment. He graduated from Spickard High School in 1951. After working as a welder in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he moved to Kansas City in 1953. He married Esther Leila Allinder and they had two sons, James (J.R.) and John Mark Hobbs. John served in the United States Army during the Korean conflict in the Signal Corp where he was trained at Camp Hale (now Vail), and later at Ft. Leonard Wood in the Sixth Armored Division.
For most of his adult life, John lived in Lee’s Summit. He attended what was then known as KC Junior College and learned bookkeeping and tax preparation and formed John M. Hobbs Accounting. He was married to Esther for 26 years.
John was active in the Lee’s Summit Optimist Club; remained in good standing as a Master Mason of Summit Lodge 263 of AF and AM; a 32nd degree member of the Scottish Rite Masonry and recognized for 50 years of service in the Ararat Shrine. He maintained his membership in the American Legion Post in which Harry S. Truman had been a member and also supported Boy Scout Troop 220. He also built a small cabin at the Lake of the Ozarks in the mid-1970’s with help from his cousin, Don, and sons, John Mark and J.R.
John was later married to Rose Mary Locke for 5 years. He then married Jacquelyn Clevenger in 1985 and they were married for approximately 20 years. He celebrated the marriages of his sons, J.R. Hobbs to Dori Figge, and John Mark to Sheila Marie Landreth.
He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, John Frederick Hobbs and his wife Megan Blosser Hobbs, and great-grandson Theodore James Hobbs; Eric James Hobbs and his wife, Molly Callender Hobbs, and great-grandson, Archer Ellis Hobbs; Jackson Ross Hobbs and Sarah Kanoy Hobbs; Maria (Masha) Grace Hobbs; Nina Marie Hobbs; and Katerina (Katia) Ann Hobbs; granddaughters, Christin Nicole Trott and Dan Trott, and great-grandsons, Ephraim Fox and Odyssey Quest Trott; granddaughters, Morgan Raquel Hobbs and her partner, Matt Wilson, Shelby Anne Cobb and her husband Cyler Cobb, and great-granddaughters, Leila Renae Cobb and Makalya Elizabeth Cobb; granddaughter, Johnna McKenzie Hobbs; and grandson, Joseph David Hobbs.
Most importantly, John was a person who displayed a good sense of humor, compassion, grace, acceptance, and tolerance. He attended various churches, including First Baptist of Lee’s Summit, and later Lee’s Summit United Methodist. He was a friend to many and after moving to Lee’s Summit, he never failed to help a person in need, silently gave to many charities and worthy causes, and always extended a kind word or gesture to those that he met. His brother, Ron Hobbs, and his wife, Shirley, survive and reside in College Station, Texas.
The family extends their utmost gratification and thankfulness to the entire staff at the Masonic Home and later, John Knox Village, for their care and dignity to our dad.
A celebration of John’s life will be held Saturday, February 19, 2022. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. A service will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at Langsford Funeral Home in downtown Lee’s Summit, followed by burial at Floral Hills East Cemetery in Lee’s Summit.
Arrangements by Langsford Funeral Home, 115 SW 3rd, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063
