Mel Carnahan was born in 1934 and raised near Elsinore, Missouri, the son of Congressman A.S.J. Carnahan, later John F. Kennedy’s ambassador to Sierra Leone. He handed out flyers for his father at 12, saw Harry Truman campaign in St. Louis in 1948, and met his wife Jean at a Baptist youth group in Washington. He fainted during an Air Force blood test and spent his service at a desk, later earning a private pilot’s license. After law school he moved to Rolla, became a municipal judge at 26, won a state House seat in 1962, and as majority floor leader pushed through a 1965 ban on racial discrimination in public places before losing a 1966 state Senate race.

After 14 years in law, school board service and the family charcoal business, he won state treasurer in 1980 and replaced favoritism in bank deposits with a formula tied to community lending. He lost the 1984 governor’s primary after walking over 300 miles, won lieutenant governor in 1988, and clashed with Governor John Ashcroft over who held power while Ashcroft was in Japan. Elected governor in 1992, he handled a school funding ruling and the Great Flood of 1993. Challenging Ashcroft for the Senate in 2000, he died on October 16 when the Cessna piloted by his son Randy crashed near Hillsboro, and voters elected him anyway.

• The Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 raised $315 million for smaller classes, teacher pay and technology.
• After the 1993 flood he oversaw the buyout and relocation of towns such as Pattonsburg.
• He called a special session to impeach fellow Democrat Judith Moriarty after she refused to resign.
• At Pope John Paul II’s request in 1999, he commuted the death sentence of Darrell Mease.
• Acting Governor Roger Wilson pledged to appoint Jean Carnahan if voters chose her late husband.