Isaac "Ike" Newton Skelton IV, 33°
Congressman
(Dec 20, 1931 – Oct 28, 2013)
Member, Lexington Lodge #149

1987 - 32° Consistory of Western MO, Kansas City
1995 - Knight Commander of the Court of Honour
2003 - Coroneted 33° Inspector General Honorary

DeMolay Legion of Honor

1958 - Ararat Shrine

Occupation: County Prosecutor, State Senator [6 terms], Congressman [17 terms]

Isaac "Ike" Newton Skelton, IV (Dec 20, 1931 – Oct 28, 2013) Former Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton, who built a reputation as a military expert and social conservative during 34 years representing western and central Missouri in the U.S. House, died Monday in Virginia. He was 81.

Skelton died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia, surrounded by his wife, his sons and their families as well as longtime colleague Russell Orban, who confirmed the death. The cause was not immediately released, but Orban said Skelton entered the hospital a week earlier with a bad cough.

A former prosecutor in his native Lexington, Missouri, Skelton joined the national Kansas City-based law firm of Husch Blackwell following his 2010 defeat in Missouri's 4th Congressional District by Republican Vicky Hartzler, a state lawmaker who had strong tea party backing.

Skelton worked for the firm in both Kansas City and Washington, D.C., and maintained homes in Lexington and the Washington suburb of McLean, Va.

At a dinner Monday night with freshman House Democrats Vice President Joe Biden called Skelton "a classy guy," and said Skelton had "absolute total, thorough integrity."

And Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi noted Skelton's dedication to the military, saying in a statement, "he made sure that every man and woman in uniform who put their lives on the line would receive the support they had earned and the deepest respect they deserved."

Skelton won the first of 17 congressional terms in 1976 and was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee at the time of his loss to Hartzler.

An astute military historian, Skelton helped build up Missouri's two military installations. As Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster was losing its cache of long-range nuclear missiles, Skelton secured its future in the late 1980s by getting the Defense Department to place the new B-2 bomber there.

After redistricting made Skelton the representative for Missouri's Fort Leonard Wood in 1983, the number of troops undergoing training there more than quadrupled and the post's mission expanded from the Army to all branches of military service.

Born Dec. 20, 1931, Skelton met President Harry Truman as a teenager and had a lifelong interest in politics. He was elected Lafayette County prosecutor in 1956 and later practiced law with his father, but returned to elective office in 1970 when he won a six-year term in the Missouri Senate.

An endorsement from Truman's widow, Bess, helped him win his first race for the U.S. House.

Until his loss to Hartzler, Skelton's closest call in a re-election bid had been a 10 percentage point victory in 1982, when redistricting changed his territory. He was a low-key campaigner but so dominant a political figure that late in his career, his campaign signs sometimes consisted only of the word "IKE" against a green background.

Among his civic activities, Skelton was a presidential appointee to the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is in charge of U.S. military resting places overseas, and the World War I Centennial Commission, which is planning next year's activities marking the 100th anniversary of the start of that war.

Skelton had been elected chairman of the Centennial Commission and was especially looking forward to its work, said Orban, who spent 16 years as a congressional aide to Skelton before moving into other government work in 1992.

If he was known for anything it was for being a student of history. He prized military education and the use of history," said Orban, who was retiring from government when he accepted Skelton's invitation to practice law with him in Husch Blackwell's Washington office.

Skelton was honored at West Point in 2012 with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, presented to "an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interests exemplify the Military Academy motto, 'Duty, Honor, Country.'"

In a Veterans Day 2010 speech at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Skelton recounted how he dedicated his career to improving conditions for military troops, veterans and their families and to expanding the missions of Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base and the Missouri National Guard.

He also expressed concern about the ability of the next Congress — led by Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate and White House — to find consensus. But he said his greatest concern was the potential for waning attention to the military.

I am fearful that a chasm will develop between those who protect our freedoms and those who are being protected," Skelton said.

Skelton had three sons with his first wife, Susan Anding, who died in August 2005. In 2009 he married Patricia Martin of Lexington, who survives along with his sons, U.S. Navy Capt. Ike Skelton V, James Anding Skelton and Harry Page Skelton.

Masonic History
Ike was a long time Missouri Mason - a member of Lexington, Missouri Lodge #149 he became a member of Ararat Shrine on 11/08/1958 - becoming a 50-year member of Ararat in 2008. Ike became a member of the Kansas City Valley of the Scottish Rite in 1987 - he was honored with the KCCH in 1995 and received his 33rd Degree in 2003.

Obituary
Former Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton, 81, (12/20/31-10/28/13) passed away Monday, October 28, 2013 at Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, VA, surrounded by family and friends. Ike Skelton was born December 20, 1931 in Lexington, MO, the son of Isaac Newton Skelton, III and Carolyn Boone Skelton. Ike married Susan Anding in 1961, she preceded him in death in 2005. He married Patricia Martin of Lexington in 2009. Ike was elected prosecutor in 1956 for Lafayette County, before being elected to the Missouri State Senate in 1970 where he served six years before being elected to congress. He served 17 terms, beginning in 1976, in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. After his government service he joined the national Kansas City-based law firm of Husch Blackwell. He worked for the firm in both Kansas City and Washington, D.C. Ike was instrumental in helping to build up Missouri’s two military installations, Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood. Among his civic activities, Skelton was a presidential appointee to the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is in charge of U.S. military resting places overseas, and the World War I Centennial Commission, which is planning next year's activities marking the 100th anniversary of the start of that war. Skelton had been elected chairman of the Centennial Commission. Skelton was honored at West Point in 2012 with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, presented to "an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interests exemplify the Military Academy motto, 'Duty, Honor, Country.'"

Ike had three sons with his first wife, Susan Anding, who died in August 2005. In 2009 he married Patricia Martin of Lexington, who survives along with his sons, U.S. Navy Capt. Ike Skelton V, and wife, Elena, Lexington, MO, U.S. Army Col. James Skelton and wife,Anita, Lexington, MO, and Harry Page Skelton and wife, Caroline Chapel Hill, N.C.; Brothers, John B. Skelton, Bradenton, FL and James P. Skelton, Warrensburg, MO. There are five grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Monday, November 4, 2013 in Wikoff Hall at Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, MO. Burial was in Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington with Military Rites.