Donald Ray Koller was born to Eugene Charles and Sylvia Mabel (Staples) Koller on December 3, 1942 in Granite City, Illinois. He departed this life on January 1, 2026 surrounded by his family at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Between those years he accepted Jesus as a young man and was blessed to have good health for 83 years which encompassed many seasons, each contributing to his legacy. He joined the First Baptist Church of Summersville in 1951.
As a young boy he learned firsthand the value of hard work on his parents’ dairy farm and while he carried that strong work ethic through the rest of his days, he often vowed to never have to return to the hard labor of dairy farming again.
He attended Summersville Schools and graduated from there in 1960. On October 30, 1960 he married Patricia Ann (Terrill) Koller and they had two children, Brenda Jean and Ginger Dawn.
Shortly after high school, he attended trade school in Toledo Ohio to become a meat cutter/butcher, graduating and taking a job at Winn Dixie in Orlando, Florida. In 1968, he returned to Missouri, where he and Pat opened and ran Koller’s Foodex, a grocery store located on the square in Summersville until they sold the business in 2012.
Don was rarely a man of single pursuits and in 1984 he was elected to the Missouri Legislature serving the 148th district to include Shannon, Reynolds, Carter, Oregon and Ripley Counties. He ran his campaign with a slogan that carried throughout the seasons in his life, “Common Sense plus Hard Work equals Progress”. In 2000, he was elected to his ninth consecutive term in the House of Representatives. He served in the legislature for 18 years marking those as some of the most rewarding years of his professional life and while there he chaired the Transportation Committee, served on the Committees for Banks and Financial Institutions, Motor Vehicle and traffic regulations, Professional Registration and licensing, Tourism and Recreation and Cultural Affairs and Agricultural. He was very proud to have served on the Committees to accomplish legislation to benefit the people he served. He completed his public service career with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Jefferson City retiring from there in 2009.
He obtained his pilot’s license in 1983 and enjoyed commuting to and from Jefferson City via his airplane and taking his family members on excursions.
Preceding him in death were his Father Eugene Koller, and Mother, Sylvia Mable (Staples) Koller.
Surviving him are his wife of 65 years Patricia Ann (Terrill) Koller, daughter Brenda Jean Hunt, son-in-law Curtis Hunt, daughter Ginger Dawn Joyner, son-in-law Paul Joyner, grandchildren Nichole Ashlock (Josh Ashlock), Ryan Hunt (Amber Harper Hunt), Bailey Koller Gruben and Brayden Kolby Gruben; Great Grandchildren Hunter Adam Ashlock, Koller Andrew Ashlock, Freeman August Ashlock, Harper Wade Hunt and Sylvie Opal Hunt.
If you had spent any amount of time with Don, it is likely you were the victim of a practical joke or his quick-witted humor. He loved nothing more than a good laugh with his family and friends. He greatly enjoyed reliving the memories and fun times spent on trips with friends fishing from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico or hunting pheasants and quail. Their home was often the gathering point for the fellowship and good food from fish frys when giggers returned from a night of gigging on the Current River. He taught us many lessons and rules to live by to include: Tractors are green, Vehicles are black, A day spent on the river is good for the soul, help wherever you can and mostly to treat others with respect.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Don’s memory be made to The Koller Family Scholarship Fund.
