Dr. John Philip Baumgardt

Dr. John Philip Baumgardt, 93, of Cassville, passed away Feb. 23, 2020, at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Baumgardt, son of Robert Harold and Frieda Clara Baumgardt, was born in 1926, in Kansas City.
Upon graduating from high school he enlisted in the United States Army where he served his country during World War II on a reconnaissance team behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Subsequently, he received his PhD in botany from the University of Missouri, becoming one of the top five botanists in the world. Baumgardt authored several books on horticulture, and traveled the world gathering rare plants including in the Golan Heights of Israel. His extensive knowledge of botany offered him opportunities to do garden restoration work at palaces in Europe following the war, and for prestigious families such as the Rockafellers and the Kennedys here in the states. He was a professor at the University of Missouri and served as the director of the Parks Department in Kansas City.
Survivors include special family friends, Larry and Kathy Westpheling, of Cassville, and their children, Blake, Nic, Duell, and Deidre, and his special friend Christa Hallett.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Martha Jean Merritt. Funeral services were held Feb. 29, 2020, at the White Funeral Home and Crematory in Cassville. Burial followed at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cassville. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville.