Dr. Donal J. Stanton

Dr. Donal J. Stanton, 80, was born May 19, 1941, in Fruita, Colo. His parents, LC Stanton and Margie (Simmons) Stanton had relocated from the nexus of Ash Grove and Walnut Grove, so that LC could work as the Director of Education for the CCC camp at Colorado’s National Monument. Stanton died peacefully in his Nixa home, Nov. 9 of CHF.  Stanton always said that he had lived the best life with the best parents, the best family, the best friends, in the best place, Ash Grove. When he married Vicki (Ellison) he amended that to include the best wife.
    
Stanton’s father was superintendent of Ash Grove School District when Stanton graduated from high school. While Stanton was assistant debate coach at SMS, he also was working on a master’s degree in communications at the University of Arkansas. He received his master’s from Arkansas in 1967. During his seven years as head debate coach, SMS debaters qualified for the National Debate Tournament every year

Stanton was granted a leave of absence from SMS to pursue a Ph.D. in communication in public policy at Ohio State University. His Ph.D. was conferred in 1972.  

In 1976, John Ashford gave Stanton the opportunity to advise the Teasdale campaign on communications.  After Teasdale won the election, the governor asked him to join his staff as Director of Communications. He took another leave of absence from SMS and served in this position from 1979 to 1981.  This experience opened a path to consult on more than 200 political races. He worked on races for the U.S. Senate, another Governor of Missouri (a former student,) State Senate, State House, U.S. Congress and Missouri Attorney General.  
In 1984, he was selected to serve at SMS as the first department head of the newly created Department of Communication and Mass Media.  He stepped down as head in 1989 when he was honored to be selected to teach in the Missouri London program in the fall of that year. In 1995, he was once more called upon to serve as department head. In 2014 he won a coveted spot on the University’s Wall of Fame.
His incredible mind stayed with him for all but the last three weeks of his life. There will be a celebration of life at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at Birch Funeral Home, Ash Grove. In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the Don and Vicki Stanton Scholarship Fund.