Laurence Hamilton “Hop” Flanigan, 91--attorney, angler, Anglophile, patriarch, Pythian, veteran, Republican, Mizzou & Jack Daniels’ loyalist, and a man of strong opinions--left his beloved family and hometown on February 9, 2015 for the final time. Born March 23, 1923 in Carthage, MO, to John H. and Gladys Callaway Flanigan, he was the third of four sons in a personality packed Irish family residing in Jasper County since 1866. His children are convinced that at this moment, Dad is laughing, sharing stories and having a cocktail with his parents, brothers and their wives: David C. & Del, John H. Jr. & Minerva, and the recently departed George, while holding his infant daughter Anne in his lap. At his side is his sister Constance as well as his in-laws Henry and Eula Mae “Billie” White. All preceded him in death. Soon he’ll be sharing funny stories, wetting a line and debating the law and current events with a cadre of friends and colleagues from Southwest Missouri and beyond, all of whom he greatly missed as the years rolled forward and he felt like the last man standing.
Survivors include his loving wife of 69 years, Eleanor; five children: J. Patrick Flanigan (Hildy) of Leawood, KS; Margaret Flanigan Brunkhorst (Steve) of Chesterfield, MO; Thomas C. Flanigan (Anita) of Carthage, MO; Katherine Flanigan White (Chet) of Jefferson City, MO and Susan Flanigan of St. Louis, MO; 8 grandchildren: Greg Brunkhorst (Nicole) of Affton, MO; Stacey Brunkhorst Taylor (Matt) of Webster Groves, MO; Elizabeth Flanigan Cook (Jeb) of Joplin, MO; Kathleen Flanigan Rhodes (William) of Blacksburg, VA; PFC Will Flanigan (Maggie) of Joplin, MO; Carolyn White McKee (Will) of Kansas City, MO; Spec. Charles White of Ft. Hood, TX, and Christina White of Jefferson City, MO and five great grandchildren: Madison and Elise Taylor of Webster Groves, MO and Finley Faye, Barrett & Lincoln Cook of Joplin, MO. Additional survivors include sister-in-law Patricia Flanigan of Carthage, MO and brother-in-law, Henry Leslie White (Noemi) of Pembroke Pines, FL as well as numerous nieces and nephews three-generations deep who survive throughout the United States.
Dad lived a classic American life. The president of the 1941 class of Carthage Senior High School and basketball letterman, Hop attended Joplin Junior College prior to matriculating to the University of Missouri--Columbia where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order. World War II interrupted his education but rather than be drafted, he joined the Army Air Corps, trained at Drew Air Force Base in Tampa, FL and was assigned to Forbes Field Air Base in Topeka, KS to prepare for his overseas assignment. On February 22, 1945 he married his high school sweetheart Eleanor White prior to his deployment to Italy with the 15th Air Force. He served as a nose gunner on the B-24 bomber and achieved the rank of Sergeant.
When he returned to Missouri after the war, Hop and his brother George graduated at the top of the 1948 class from the University of Missouri School of Law and received the school's highest honor - the Order of the Coif. He was a partner at McReynolds, Flanigan & Flanigan, now Flanigan, Lasley and Moore until his retirement in 2001. The Firm is the oldest law firm in Jasper County and perhaps the oldest continuing operating law firm in Missouri, tracing its inception to 1877 when it was founded by the late Senator Samuel McReynolds. In addition, Hop became a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1981, an organization open by invitation only to 1% of practicing lawyers who have demonstrated a career of excellence in the trial of jury cases. In 1998 the Missouri Bar conferred his status as Senior Counselor which is awarded to lawyers who have practiced law continuously in Missouri for 50 years.
He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, Grace Episcopal Church and a founding member of both the Broadview Country Club and the SMB table (founded at the C&W Café and currently based at the Carthage Deli).
Humor, unfiltered honesty and generosity blended with a love for language and books were staples in the Flanigan household. Dad was the unique composite of fictional characters Atticus Finch and George Bailey with a little bit of Archie Bunker thrown in, just to make it interesting. He enjoyed fishing and floating (especially the Buffalo River and Clyde’s Bluff), playing poker with the guys, and traveling with Ellie and friends to Great Britain, Las Vegas and Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR. This year, an empty chair draped with his Flanigan University sweatshirt and Bloody Mary next to it will be placed in front of the house during the annual Maple Leaf parade as a final farewell to Dad.
Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. on February 14 at Grace Episcopal Church, 820 Howard St, Carthage, MO with internment afterward at Park Cemetery. Following the burial, friends and colleagues are invited to share a meal and stories with the family in the Grace Church Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests sharing a photo or story about our father with us or contributing to an organization in whose mission you believe. Additionally, those unable to join us as we commemorate his life are invited to mix a cocktail at 5 p.m. on the day of their choice, turn up FOX news to the highest volume allowed on the television set, and toast our father.
As a family, we’ll remember Dad playing the Notre Dame Fight Song on his tonette (usually after a round of cards at the Country Club), his skillful whistling and the line he and generations of Flanigans utter when leaving a family gathering:
“Remember, I love you the biggest.”
Online condolences may be expressed at www.knellmortuary.com. Arrangements are under the direction and personal care of Knell Mortuary.
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