Donald L. Pfost

Donald L. Pfost died Jan. 28, 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 served in the Army signal corps and was stationed in Korea. He earned bachelors and masters 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. 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 1980s 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.

He was married to Wilma Hudson Pfost and had an older brother, Harry B. Pfost. Both preceded him in death. 

He is survived by his daughters, Karen Pfost of Bloomington, IL and Mia Lewis of Columbia; a granddaughter, Rachel Elizabeth Cofer of Bloomington, IL; and a great-granddaughter, Maya Evelyn Cofer, also of Bloomington IL.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, Feb. 9, at 2:00 p.m. at the Cowgill United Methodist Church in Cowgill. A visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m., at the church, one hour prior to the service. Burial will be held at Cowgill Cemetery following the funeral. A memorial service will be held at the chapel of Missouri United Methodist in Columbia at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Sandy Zaring Perseverance Award through the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Arrangements are under the direction of Stith Family Funeral Home in Polo.

(paid obituary)