Former state Sen. Danny Staples dies of heart attack

EMINENCE, Mo. -- Former state Sen. Danny Staples, an Ozarks orator with legislative power over prisons and highways, died Tuesday at his home of a heart attack, a family spokesman announced. He was 68.

Staples, a Democrat from Eminence, served 20 years in the Senate before retiring in January because of term limits. He previously served six years in the Missouri House.

A former truck driver who for decades ran a family campground and canoe rental business in Shannon County, Staples was known as a colorful speaker, able to spin rustic yarns while promoting or killing bills.

"Danny Staples was one of the true characters in the Senate, but he was also the fiercest protector of his district of any lawmaker in Missouri," said former Gov. Roger Wilson, a fellow Democrat who served alongside Staples as a senator.

Staples and his wife, Barbara, were preparing to depart for a trip in their recreational vehicle when the former senator collapsed Tuesday evening, said Shane Van Steenis of Eminence, a former Senate aide and longtime family friend who confirmed the death.

"Danny had a heart as big as Texas and he loved helping people," said Van Steenis, a former Shannon County presiding commissioner who called Staples "my mentor and role model."

At the height of his legislative power in the late 1990s, Staples chaired committees overseeing Missouri transportation and prisons. He influenced the selection of locations for new prisons and expansions of others, including communities in his district: Potosi, Bonne Terre and Farmington.

Staples described himself as a hillbilly, and once proudly wore onto the Senate floor a headband with a long, colorful feather after a newspaper described him as a peacock among legislative turkeys.

A visitation is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon Friday at First Baptist Church in Eminence. The funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at the church, with burial to follow at New Eminence Cemetery.