Lawrence Melville "Larry" Ollis

Larry Ollis died on 10 October 2026 in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of 95. No cause of death was made public. Visitation was held on 15 October 2026 at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, with funeral services on 16 October at St. John's Episcopal Church, 515 E. Division, Springfield. Burial followed in Maple Park Cemetery. Springfield Little Theatre published a lengthy tribute calling him one of the most influential figures in its history. Springfield Business Journal and the Springfield Daily Citizen also reported his death.

Lawrence Melville Ollis was born in Springfield, Missouri, on 24 February 1931. His parents were Alfred Melville Ollis and Aileen Long Ollis, both of Springfield. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1949 and attended Drury College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1953. After graduation he was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Counter Intelligence Corps in Korea until he was wounded. He received a medical retirement from the Army and returned to Springfield.

Back in Springfield, Ollis entered the family business, Ollis and Company, becoming a real estate broker and later an insurance broker. Insurance remained his primary occupational interest until his retirement from Ollis and Company in 1993. Richard Ollis, later CEO of the successor firm Ollis/Akers/Arney, recalled that Larry wrote large commercial accounts and was a significant figure in institutional insurance for clients including City Utilities and Springfield Public Schools. Ollis also purchased Thomas Travel, one of the oldest travel agencies in Springfield, and operated it until it was sold in 2004, after which he retired fully.

Ollis served on the board or as an officer of many Springfield organisations, including Springfield Little Theatre, the Springfield Airport Board, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Maple Park Cemetery Association, Cox Hospital, and Mercantile Bank. He was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church. He was married for 56 years to Fay Bartlett Vandivort Ollis, daughter of Springfield Little Theatre matriarch Frances Vandivort. The couple had no children. Fay died in April 2026. He was preceded in death by both of his brothers and was survived by niece Jacqueline McIntosh and her husband Greg and their family, and by nephews Matthew Ollis and Christopher Ollis and their families, all of Springfield.

Ollis's lasting legacy is the Landers Theatre as the permanent home of Springfield Little Theatre. As board president from 1965 to 1967 and later as chair of the search committee, he helped buy the deteriorating downtown movie house in 1970, restore it for live performance, and clear its mortgage by 1978. More than five decades later, generations of performers, volunteers, students, and audiences still use the building he fought to secure. With Fay he also preserved theatre history, including the John Landers portrait in the lobby. In January 2026 he returned to see renovations and told staff he was proud of what the organisation had accomplished.