This Article Has Been
Illustrated by Hazel Brooks and
Compiled by Helen Strain Shannon

FOXWOOD SPRINGS is a community for older adults, where loving care, concern and security are provided ... where retirement means time for renewal of interests and enjoyment.  It is located between Belton and Raymore, Missouri in a beautiful small-town type setting, with both homes and apartments, on State Highway 58, one mile east of U.S. Highway 71.

What began as a glow of an idea in the mind of Mrs. Merle Dean Mott spread like fox fire, that eerie phosphorescent light sometimes seen on aging wood in the dark.  Merle felt the growing need of such a “Home” so sincerely that one day her idea burst into flame and emerged as a full-blown dream capable of realization...  

“Would the Church be interested in using my sixty-two acre farm for a ‘Caring Home’ for older adults?” The “fox fire flame” rolled along in her mind and burst into fire that engulfed the Reverend Richard Person, the Belton minister, and then Dr. William T. Gibble, President of The National Benevolent Association of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Dr. Gibble fanned the fire into a soul-stirring blaze and a great idea became a greater plan...

Who would keep that fox fire burning?  Who would fan that glow into reality ... into its potential greatness as a “Home of Concern and Care?” In answer to that important quandary came Dr. Thomas H. Johns with zeal and dedication.  A human dynamo with ability to inspire everyone around him, he brought constructive, creative direction.  Dr. Johns accepted the challenge to nurture this dream into a HAVEN for retirement living and health care where independence, an active lifestyle, and the dignity of the individual would be emphasized...

Dr. Johns saw on Merle’s beautiful farm a spring of pure water with a flow bountiful enough to supply the entire farm, its livestock, the home, and neighbors.  This spring became a symbol of reality and strength, enhancing the glow of the fox fire dream and its fulfillment...

This is the story of the beginning of this wonderful HAVEN ... the NAME, rich in symbolic meaning, was inspired by the spreading glow of a luminous fungus on the fallen tree, called FOX FIRE WOOD by the Indians, and it was further inspired by the life-giving spring on this beautiful land.

Thus in 1976, in cooperation with The National Benevolent Association, Merle’s great dream became Foxwood Springs.

In April 2005, Foxwood Springs came under new ownership.  Residents look forward to a bright future with new management by Brookdale Communities
http://www.brookdaleliving.com