Colonel J.T. McMahan (Veteran)

Colonel J.T. McMahan, age 97, of Boonville, passed away on Friday, March 23, 2012, at the Cooper County Memorial Hospital. He was born on October 25, 1914, in Blackwater, the son of Percy B. and Maude S. McMahan. He grew up in Boonville and attended Boonville Senior High School. Following graduation he moved to Jefferson City, where he lived until 1984, except for his service during World War II and an Army posting to Washington, DC. He returned to Boonville in 1984 and was a prominent member of the community until his death. He was an active member of the First Christian Church. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and member of the Boonville Rotary. Col. McMahan was a Mason for over 70 years, a member of Cooper Lodge No. 36, and the Boonville Shrine Club of which he was a past president. His interests included fly fishing, ham radio and a true love of traveling by car throughout the United States. In 1940 he entered active service in the Army and was sent to England in 1944. He participated in the D-Day landings at Normandy and was in Paris on VE Day. He returned to the states in 1945. He served in the Selective Service until his retirement from active duty as a Colonel in 1970. His last duty assignment was as Director of Fiscal Control of Selective Service Headquarters in Washington, DC. After retiring he played a major role in starting the Local Government Employees Retirement System in Jefferson City. Col. McMahan is survived by a son, Col. Jesse T. (Tom) McMahan of Alexandria, Va., from his first marriage to Dorothy V. McMahan of Jefferson City, which ended after 47 years with her death in 1982. He is also survived by the two daughters, Barbara Wendleton and Patti Beale, both of Boonville, of his late wife, Alberta K. McMahan, who preceded him in death in 2009. He had five grandchildren: Casey Voight of Columbia, Lindsey Smith of Kansas City, West Wendleton of Boonville, Kara Miller of Lancaster, Pa., and Biff Beale of Austin, Texas. He had four great-grandchildren. Visitation for Col. J.T. McMahan will be 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 26, at Davis Funeral Chapel. Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 27, at First Christian Church in Boonville, with Pastor Dan Crum officiating. Burial will follow in the Old Lamine Cemetery near Blackwater with full military honors. Memorials may be given to Cooper Lodge No. 36, 717 Main Street, or the First Christian Church, 301 Fourth Street, both of Boonville, MO 65233.