Our friend and colleague Dee Wampler died on October 8, 2021. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1965, giving up an opportunity to join the FBI to become an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Greene County. He became the youngest elected Prosecuting Attorney in the county’s history at the age of 29. In 1973, he began in private practice, eventually founding Wampler & Passanise Law Office with his law partner Joseph S. Passanise.

Wampler helped create and was a lifetime board member of the Messiah Project; was President of the Civil War Roundtable of the Ozarks; and on the Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts, Hammons Center for the Performing Arts, Ozarks Crime Prevention Council, and the Springfield Symphony. His firm was also a major sponsor of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.

He was recognized in Who’s Who in American Politics, Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report’s Best Lawyers. He had been selected as a Top Ten Lawyer in the State of Missouri, published more than 200 articles for law enforcement journals and blogs (deewampler.com) and authored six books including The Trial of Christ – A Criminal Attorney Defends Jesus, The Myth of Separation of Church and State, One Nation Under God, Standing on the Front Line and five books on Missouri criminal law.

As we move forward, he can rest assured that the example he set will continue to inspire us. For one of the true legends in criminal defense in this region, court stands adjourned.