Dr. John Walter Massey

Dr. John Walter Massey, 88, of Aurora, passed away March 27, 2020.
John, the son of Homer and Lovenna Massey, was born Aug. 16, 1931, in Orla. He grew up on a family farm in Laclede County with parents who were both educators. He graduated from Lebanon High School.
John enlisted in the United States Air Force and was a Staff Sergeant, serving with air and sea rescue, during the Korean War.
On Aug. 9, 1952, he was married to Janet Lee Park, the love of his life. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary just prior to Janet’s death.  
John received three degrees from University of Missouri-Columbia College of Agriculture: BS in Agriculture Education and MS and PhD in Animal Breeding (Reproductive Physiology) & Genetics.
Dr. Massey joined the MU Animal Sciences Department faculty in 1961, serving one year as an Extension Area Livestock Specialist in southeast Missouri and then 30 years on the MU campus as an assistant professor and Extension State Livestock Specialist. During his tenure he developed research based programs for beef cattle producers. He coordinated Missouri beef cattle improvement programs and established the Missouri On-Farm Performance Testing Program. Dr. Massey received many state and national awards, including the National Beef Improvement Federation Pioneer Award and the American Society of Animal Science Fellow Award. He was awarded the professor emeritus title in 1993.
When John retired in 1992, he and Janet  bought a farm in Lawrence County near Aurora where they had a cow-calf, steer backgrounding and heifer development operation until his death.
John is survived by: daughter, Vera (Michael McGeehan) Massey of Columbia; son, John (Pam) Massey Jr. of Columbia; and grandchildren Christopher Nichols, of Chicago, Ill., Sarah (Aaron) Buran and Stacy Massey, of Columbia; sister Thelma Six of Adrian; as well as many other relatives and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents and his brothers Robert Massey and Don Massey.
John was buried April 2, 2020 at McBride Cemetery in rural Laclede County. A Celebration of Life will be planned for a later date. The family requests that if you would like to honor John, memorials may be made to the Massey Memorial Teaching Scholarship fund for Laclede County Public School teachers wanting to further education in their field. Make checks payable to the Lebanon Area Foundation, PO Box 1042, Lebanon, MO 65536.