Robert "Paul" Mann, 74, of Nixa, Missouri died January 11, 2019. He was born November 2, 1944 to Glenn and Dora Mann in Dixon, Missouri. Paul attended Dixon public schools and played varsity basketball for the Dixon Bulldogs. He was drafted into the Marines in 1965 and served his Country in the Vietnam War until 1967. After returning home from the war he married his sweetheart, Janice Holtrust, in 1968, and had two children, Scott and Kristin.
Paul had an extremely inquisitive and analytical mind and worked on the Apollo space mission project for two years in California. When he moved the family back to his home state of Missouri in 1979, he chose to focus on automobile repair and pursued that vocation until his retirement in 1998 as a supervisor for the City of Springfield. In the span of those twenty years, Paul privately performed full restorations on many classic automobiles including several designated as "historic" by the State of Missouri. The scope of Paul's talent was not limited to automobiles however as he was prolific at repairing practically anything electric as well. Virtually nothing that plugged into a wall outlet went into the trash at the Mann household unless Paul had made every attempt to resuscitate the article.
Paul's other great passion involved watching and attending basketball games, especially games his children participated in. Although he worked the second shift for the City of Springfield throughout Scott and Kristin's varsity basketball years, Paul refused to ever miss a game. He would take vacation time in the middle of his shift and go to games dressed in his full mechanic uniform and then return to finish his shift after the game had ended. After both of his children were awarded full basketball scholarships to attend college, Paul would travel as far away as Waco, TX and Arkadelphia, AR to watch his children play.
After retiring, Paul and Jan moved from Springfield to a lake house on lake Pomme De Terre in Urbana, Missouri. Paul built a large shop on the property where he continued to pursue his hobby of reconditioning anything and everything, now primarily focusing on, but not limited to, small boat engines, riding lawn mowers, and golf carts. On the weekends, Paul and Jan hosted their children and their families for lake related activities such as cookouts, swimming and water sports.
Paul is survived by his wife of 50 years, Janice Mann. His son, Scott and daughter-in-law, Kim and their children, Marissa and Zack. His daughter, Kristin (Pheonix) and son-in-law Jerod and their children Liam, Daylon, and Meryk. His is also survived by his sisters, Glennis (Knollmeyer), Sandy (Jones) and brothers Jack and Swede. He was preceded in death by his parents Glenn and Dora and youngest sister Beverly (Hall).
Visitation will be 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Thursday, January 17, 2019, in Adams Funeral Home, Ozark. A graveside funeral will follow at 1:00 PM in Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield.