Donald L. Pfost

Donald L. Pfost died Jan. 28th, 2018 at Boone Hospital Center of pneumonia and influenza.  He was born in Cowgill, MO in 1924 to his parents, Harry B. Pfost and Fauna (Wells) Pfost. He was married to Wilma Hudson Pfost and had an older brother, Harry B. Pfost.  All of them preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughters, Karen Pfost, of Bloomington, IL and Marcia Lewis, of Columbia, MO, a granddaughter, Rachel Elizabeth Cofer, of Bloomington, IL and a great-granddaughter, Maya Evelyn Cofer, also of Bloomington IL.

He served in the Army signal corps and was stationed in Korea.  He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He held engineering positions at Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria, IL, and at Bendix and Farmland Industries in Kansas City, MO. After teaching at Virginia Polytechnic Institute he earned his doctorate in agricultural engineering from Ohio State University. He returned to the University of Missouri-Columbia in the 1980’s as a faculty member in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He had short-term assignments for the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Senegal, Kenya, and Bangladesh. He had been active in and sometimes held offices in various professional organizations, most notably the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.  He had been a charter member of Alpha Epsilon, the agricultural engineering honorary society, when it was founded at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the  Sandy Zaring Perseverance Award through the University of Missouri-Columbia and may be left at or mailed to Stith Family Funeral Home (301 E. Elm St Polo, MO 64671) Funeral services will be held 2:00 PM, Friday February 9th, 2018 at the United Methodist Church in Cowgill, MO. The family will receive friends one-hour prior to the service at the church.  Burial at Cowgill Cemetery southeast of Cowgill, MO. 

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