Jan Knauer Horton

Apparently Lincoln and Marcella Knauer were enthused by the birth of their first child, a daughter, on Nov. 15, 1933, in Chicago: She was christened Janith Johanna Lynne Francis Knauer. In the 87-plus years that followed, she enjoyed a life as crowded, energetic, and productive as her prodigious moniker promised.

Jan's family moved to the Ozarks later in the 1930s, first to Joplin, then Springfield, where she attended Rountree Elementary, Elfindale Academy and St. Agnes High School. In 1951 she matriculated at the University of Oklahoma, becoming the first person in her extended family to attend college. After graduating, she moved with two college friends to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where she worked in a real-estate agency for a spell and may have visited the beach once or twice.

When Jan returned to Springfield, she joined her father's wide-ranging business pursuits, acquiring a knowledge of business and human nature that would serve her well. She shared her father's overflowing joie de vivre , and when she later turned that upbeat spirit to philanthropy, she would convince generations of donors not only to contribute their hard-earned money to the many worthy causes she supported, but also to thank her for the opportunity.

In her 30s, Jan joined up with five other singletons, two women and three gentlemen, to form The Single Six Marching and Martini Society, an outfit whose "meetings" aligned with its title. Around this time, she began dating Hank Horton, a member of an old Springfield family, who was a contractor, large-machinery aficionado, classic-car collector and architecture buff.

Horton persuaded noted architect E. Faye Jones to design a home on family property overlooking the James River east of Springfield, and after the couple married in 1966, they moved into the new stone and glass house. These were the glory years for Jan, a born nature-lover. She floated the James on the River Rat, a square, flat, makeshift raft powered by a trolling motor. On land, she traversed the countryside in a stripped-down VW beetle equipped with a cubby for her bird-watching binoculars and a gimbal-mounted receptacle to hold the essential elixir that fueled her endless activities, a fresh Dr Pepper.

In 1969, Jan gave birth to her daughter, Claire, bringing new focus to her life. When Jan's marriage ended some years later, the two enjoyed a close bond that flourished as Claire graduated from Duke University, became a physician, married Doug Shoemaker, settled in San Francisco, and made Jan a proud grandmother to Sophie, 17, and son Benjamin, 13—the two great joys of her later years. Many trips back and forth from San Francisco ensued: Jan was an indelible part of her grandchildren's lives, and the most loving "Nana" in the world. The many late nights they spent hearing the stories of her life will remain with them forever.

Jan's early life was undeniably blessed by prosperity, but she never embraced the so-called "virtue of selfishness." Instead, she turned her energies to bringing people together and lifting up her city. As her interest in philanthropy grew, she often worked with her younger sister, Roseann Knauer Bentley, forming a powerful team that for decades contributed to Springfield civic life. The sisters were among the founders of the Junior League of Springfield in 1959, and they supported the work of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, an organization focused on developing charitable resources, grantmaking and public leadership, after it was established in 1973.

If you seek Jan's legacy, look around you. A lover of the arts, she served as the development director for KOZK in the 1980s, spent many years on the Springfield Little Theatre Board of Directors, and worked with Barb Baker, Randy Russell, and Nancy Dornan to create the city's annual ArtsFest celebration. She also served on the Springfield Regional Arts Council board and on the Jordan Valley Advisory Committee, helping bring Jordan Valley Park into existence. She was a longtime advocate for Ozark Greenways, and as an early director for Friends of the Garden, worked to realize the vision of a botanical garden at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park.

Throughout her life, Jan was an avid bird-watcher. She always took part in the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society's annual Christmas bird count, served as president of the group, took aviary vacations to Belize and other destinations with daughter Claire, and joined Dickerson Park Zoo groups on trips to Africa and China. Her "life list" of bird species sighted ran into the hundreds, and she always was eager to tutor others to imitate the haunting call of the barred owl: "Who cooks for you?"

In 1988, as the previously all-volunteer Community Foundation of the Ozarks grew, Jan was named its Executive Director and became its first salaried employee; as it flourished, she became the CFO's first President in 1993 and remained in office until her retirement in 2003. When she took the reins, the organization held $1.7 million in assets. When she retired as president, it held $52.5 million. Today, its assets exceed $375 million.

In her long career, Jan served on the boards and committees of some 40 local organizations, helping support other women by opening doors previously closed. In 1988, the year Rotary International began admitting female members, she was among the first to join the Rotary Club of Downtown Springfield, where she belonged for 32 years. Since her death, many women active in the local community have shared with her daughter what a powerful inspirational role Jan's career played in their lives.

Honors came Jan's way. She was given an Ozzie Award from the Springfield Regional Arts Council in 1995. She received the coveted designation of Springfieldian of the Year from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce in 1998. And in 2009 she was awarded Missouri State University's honorary Doctorate in Public Affairs, which celebrated Jan as an "innovator, businesswoman, collaborator, and visionary leader."

Jan leaves behind her daughter, Dr. Claire Horton and family (Doug, Sophie, and Benji); her sister Roseann (Dr. John Bentley); three brothers: Lincoln (Nancy); Kenny (Marti); and Kelly (Louise); as well as a cadre of admiring nieces and nephews and their children, all of whom regarded her as an honorary grandmother and family matriarch, and in whose lives she was deeply and actively interested. Her ashes were interred in Maple Park Cemetery on Thursday, April 22, in a small family service.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is making a lead gift for the Jan Horton Memorial Fund, which will honor Jan's love of nature with a living memorial at the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, where a public celebration of her life will be held at the Peace Through People Pavilion at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 22.

For others who would like to honor Jan, memorial contributions can be directed to the CFO, P.O. Box 8960, Springfield, MO, 65801, or online at cfozarks.org/hortonfund; or to the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society.

Summing up Jan's life in a 2018 biography, The Moon Sees Me, niece Gwyn Knauer described her as "a sister, a mother, a grandmother, a feminist, a nature lover, a bird watcher, a canoeist, a dweller of the cliffside and a steward of farmland, a world traveler, a businesswoman, a community activist, a supporter of theater and the arts, a philanthropist, a spokesperson, a holder of an honorary Ph.D., and a loyal and supportive friend."

Perhaps her parents should have given her a longer name.