Jerry Redfern
WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Springfield attorney and Lelia Heuer Foundation manager Jerry L. Redfern will give the keynote address at Missouri State University-West Plains’ 2016 commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at the West Plains Civic Center arena.
The title of Redfern’s presentation will be “My Grandmother Told Me Not to Be A Comedian.” Everyone is invited to attend the event.
“Jerry Redfern has been a longtime advocate of Missouri State University-West Plains and its students through his association with the Lelia Heuer Foundation,” said Chancellor Drew Bennett. “This foundation has provided nearly $200,000 in scholarships to our students over the years. Mr. Redfern understands Mrs. Heuer’s love for Howell County and its people, and takes personal satisfaction and pride in seeing her legacy live on through our students.”
A native of Forsyth, Redfern has practiced law for more than 50 years. Earlier this year, he bec\ame of counsel to the Springfield law firm of Neale & Newman, L.L.P. after being its senior partner for nearly 30 years. His practice emphasizes estate planning and private foundations.
In addition to practicing law, Redfern serves as the foundation manager for three charitable trust foundations – the Musgrave Foundation, the Slusher Foundation and the Lelia Heuer Foundation – through which he oversees grants that exceed $1.1 million per year to deserving and charitable endeavors.
Since 2001, annual grants from the Lelia Heuer Foundation have funded 80 scholarships totalling over $188,000 which have helped 59 students seek a college education at Missouri State-West Plains. In addition, a grant from the Heuer Foundation also started the Ozarks Food Harvest Mobile Food Pantry service to West Plains in April 2010 to help qualifying individuals place food on the table. This service continues with grant funds and financial support from local groups, businesses, churches and individuals.
In 1994, Redfern received the Equal Access to Justice Award from Legal Aid of Southwest Missouri, and in 1995, he received the Pro Bono Publico Award from the Missouri Bar, both for his volunteer work with underprivileged clients who could not afford to hire an attorney. In 2000, he received the Distinguished Attorney Award from the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, and in 2007, he received the Tom Cochran Community Service Award from the Missouri Bar Association and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Drury University. He is a past president and remains a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Southern Missouri.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Drury College in Springfield in 1957 and his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1961. He served as the law clerk to Judge Randall Webber of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri before joining Neale & Newman.
Redfern has long been actively involved in Springfield community affairs. He is an elder and deacon, and a former trustee, in the Presbyterian Church. He is a past president of the Developmental Center of the Ozarks, which was formerly known as the Cerebral Palsy Center; a past president of the Springfield Park Board; and a former United Way campaign chairman.
He is a member of The Missouri Bar and is admitted to practice in Missouri and before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. He is a member and past president of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, a former chairman of its Continuing Legal Education Programs Committee, and a former chairman of the 31st Judicial Circuit Bar Committee.
Redfern lives in Springfield with his wife, Spencer, whom he has known since his days as a student at Drury College, where he met his first wife, Jeanne, to whom he was married for more than 50 years before she passed away in 2012. He has two sons, Greg and David, and Spencer has three children. Together they have nine grandchildren.
For more information about commencement activities, contact the Missouri State-West Plains academic affairs office, 417-255-7272. For more information about Missouri State-West Plains, visit the website.