May 27--JOPLIN, Mo. -- John Q. Hammons, the hotel magnate and philanthropist whose name is ubiquitous throughout Southwest Missouri, died early today in Springfield, according to Sheri Davidson Smith, a spokeswoman for John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts.

He was 94.

Hammons, who was born in Fairview in 1919, developed 210 hotel properties in 40 states during his career, including Joplin's Holiday Inn and nearby convention center. He also built the nearby Marriott Courtyard in Joplin.

Although his legal first name was James and his middle name was Quinten, he used the name "John Q." when he introduced himself to city leaders or others as a way to convey the message that he was representing the general public, according to a company statement.

Hammons told The Globe in 1989 that he spent most of his childhood in Newton County working on a farm, studying and playing basketball.

His family actually lost their 200-acre dairy farm during the Great Depression. As a teen, Hammons trapped rabbits and sold their pelts for a nickel apiece to help get by.

"I grew up from zero," he said in 1989. "I'll never forget my mother and father losing the farm in the Depression. It bothered me. I just always wanted to get ahead and do things. I didn't want what happened to them to happen to me."

Decades later, he funded the John Q. Hammons Community Center in Fairview. He said he learned that he was Fairview's favorite son from a friend who told him that his hometown had erected a sign, "Welcome to Fairview, birthplace of John Q. Hammons."

"It intrigued me that they even remembered me," he said at the time.

Upon hearing of the small community's financial struggles, he also made donations to the community's annual budget.

Years later, he also launched with a $210,000 gift a scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University for poor and minority students.

Hammons left Fairview after graduating in 1937 to earn a degree from the Southwest Missouri State Teachers College (now Missouri State University) in Springfield and worked briefly as a junior high school teacher and basketball coach in Cassville.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and soon afterward, realized that returning soldiers needed housing. One of his first businesses -- a company that sold mortar-less bricks -- went bust, saddling him with debt.

"It was a dismal beginning," Hammons told the Globe in 1987, saying the business suffered from a lack of capital and his lack of experience.

He was soon building some of the first suburban housing in Springfield and that led to other real estate ventures, including apartment complexes and shopping centers. In 1958, he and a partner bought their first 10 Holiday Inn franchises from company founder Kemmons Wilson. A decade later they had built nearly three dozen Holiday Inn hotels.

He formed John Q. Hammons Hotels in 1969 and, according to a statement issued by his company Monday, "built it into the largest private, independent owner and manager of upscale hotels in the United States."

Hammons said his strategy was to avoid big cities in favor of college towns and state capitals.

"He would say, 'The kids will always go to school, and you can't fire the damn politicians,"' former company executive Scott Tarwater said in a March 2011 interview. It was Hammons, according to that statement, who "introduced the hospitality industry to ... full-service hotels featuring atrium lobbies, expansive meeting and convention space, large guest rooms, podium check-in stations, and complete business traveler amenities ..."

Today, the company operates 78 hotels and nearly 19,000 guest rooms in 24 states, and employs more than 8,500 exceptional associates.

Hammons also developed independent hotels, including Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa & Convention Center in Branson.

"Hammons was a giant in the hospitality industry and was unwavering in his commitment to exceptional quality and service and to giving back to the community," Jacqueline Dowdy, CEO of John Q Hammons Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement. "He was a great mentor and friend and will be missed by all who came to know him, but his legacy will live on forever."

He regularly appeared on Forbes magazine's list of the wealthiest Americans and estimated his personal wealth several years ago at $1 billion. He took his company public in 1994 before returning it to private ownership a decade later.

Hammons and his wife, Juanita, who is from Marionville, donated millions of dollars to the city of Springfield and other organizations over the last five decades. Some of his philanthropic efforts include funding of the Hammons Heart Institute and Hammons Life Line helicopter for St. John's Regional Health Center in Springfield; the Hammons Student Center, Hammons Fountains, and Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University; the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University; Missouri Sports Hall of Fame; Kansas Sports Hall of Fame; and Hammons Field in Springfield, home to the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A Minor League team, the Springfield Cardinals.

Hammons also donated $30 million to Missouri State University to build the JQH Arena, which opened in 2008, and was instrumental in funding Ozarks Public Television.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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