Virgil Dewayne Rees was born on August 16, 1936, to Virgil Jackson Rees and Virgie Harmon Rees. He was the 4th of 5 children and was greatly spoiled by his sisters, Betty and Jenny. He spent his childhood in rural Texas County and graduated from Houston High School in 1954, where he was a star athlete in many sports, leading to an invitation to try out with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had fallen in love at that time and chose to become a dairy farmer and get married over a possible career in baseball.
He married Shirley Hart on August 20, 1955, and they settled on the farm at Elk Creek, where they were blessed with 2 wonderful children, Ginger Lea and Bradley Dewayne. He milked cows twice a day and also worked during the day at his brother Denver’s pole mill in Cabool.
In 1964, he sold the dairy farm and moved his family to Salem, where he and his brother, Buck operated a pallet mill for a short time and then he bought the place on 63 Highway outside Houston where he lived the rest of his life and built his own pallet mill and later his house. He operated the pallet mill for many years and eventually, needing trucks to haul the pallets, started Rees Trucking Company. He built a very successful trucking company and was instrumental with his friend, Mike Lybyer in the 1970s in getting significant legislation passed in Missouri to further the trucking industry in the state. Before that, he worked with Congressman Dick Ichord to change the permit laws for trucking in the United States. Until his last day at home, it delighted him to sit on his front porch and hear the truckers honk as they passed by, and it happened frequently.
On May 12, 1989, he married Jean Storm and added three stepdaughters to the family, Ginger, Pepper, and Cinnamon. He and Jean had many adventures, but they loved the horse races the most; so much that he bought racehorses, the most infamous being Sir Bubby. Dewayne’s nickname that his sisters and many others called him was Bub or Bubby, so Sir Bubby seemed like a good fit.
For his 80th birthday, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a resolution, honoring him for, among other things, owning and operating over 35 businesses and being involved in over 200 land transactions during his career.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his stepmother, Pauline Rees; brothers, Denver and Buck Rees; and sister, Betty Ream.
Dewayne is survived by his loving wife, Jean; his children, Ginger (Bruce) Copeland and Brad (Stacey) Rees; his stepdaughters, Ginger (Rob) Withers, Pepper (Greg) Martin, and Cinnamon (Cody) Jacobs; grandchildren, Cara (Chris) Morris, Elgin (Sarah) Rees, Rachel (Dustin) Kirkman, Brad (Sarah) Copeland, Madison Dixon, and Hannah Dixon; great-grandchildren, Daxon, Duke and Dawson Kirkman, Beckett and Macklin Morris, Emelia and Lydia Rees; step-grandchildren, Callie (Stephen) Stewart, Gavin (Alyssa) Martin, Slayde, Harper, and Rocco Jacobs, Tyler (Kate) Martin, Dalton (Kelsie) Martin; step-great-grandchildren; Cruz Stewart, Mason and Blake Martin, Addison and Knox Martin; his sister, Jenny McKinney; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of friends, all of whom will miss him immensely.
Memorial contributions in Dewayne’s name may be made to Elk Creek Baptist Church or Ozark Cemetery.
