Ray Klinginsmith, BS BA '59, JD '65

General Counsel and Professor of Business Administration, Retired

Truman State University


Ray Klinginsmith retired in 1995 with more than 50 years of experience as a lawyer in Macon and Kirksville. His lifelong passion for serving developmentally disabled Missourians led to his appointment to serve on the Missouri Family Trust, and he is a founding member and the first President of the Chariton Valley Association, a non-profit that provides high quality support services to individuals with developmental disabilities in northeast Missouri.

Klinginsmith has also been a dedicated member of Rotary, one of the largest and oldest service organizations in the world, for over 50 years. He has served in almost every capacity the organization has to offer, including holding the prestigious title of Rotary International President—a position only one other Missourian has ever held in over 100 years. He has been awarded both the Citation for Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Award by the organization and is a current member of the Kirksville Rotary Club.

  • President, Theta Xi Fraternity — 1956-1959
  • Silver Beaver Award, Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America — 1979
  • Thomas D. Cochran Community Service Award, Missouri Bar — 1983
  • Parent/Caretaker Award, Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities — 1988
  • President, Rotary International — 2010-2011
  • Man of Distinction, Theta Xi Fraternity — 2018  

Klinginsmith is a former member of the Executive Board for the Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America and a former lay speaker for the First United Methodist Church in Kirksville, and a life member of the Mizzou Alumni Association. His wife, Judie, passed away in 2020. They have two children, Leigh and Kurt, and three grandchildren, Morgan, Grant, and Sydney.

“That's cowboy logic, every cowboy's got it. He's got a simple solution to just about anything.” — Michael Martin Murphey