Leaders We Lost in 2023: Maurice Sandfort

Editor’s note: As part of a year-in-review series, the Southeast Missourian is remembering some of the notable community leaders or public servants who died in 2023.

Maurice Sandfort

Maurice Sandfort, known as Moe, enjoyed a long career in banking and community involvement before passing away Nov. 26.

Sandfort held the position of president at multiple banks throughout his career, but he also served on the boards of Saint Francis Medical Center, Trinity Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Home and the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. He was also the former president of Cape Girardeau Rotary and was active in the United Way and chambers of commerce organizations.

In 2015, Sandfort was appointed to a role of senior adviser of philanthropy to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, where he helped establish a foundation for Cape Girardeau. He was a member of the Cape Girardeau Tax Increment Financing Commission, and served on a committee to select a new executive director for the economic development organization called Cape Girardeau Magnet. He also ran for public office for the Cape Girardeau County Commission in 2012.