This is my brother's official published obituary.
Richard McClellan
Liberty, SC
A memorial service to honor the life of Mr. McClellan will be held at 2:00 PM Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Clemson. A visitation will be held from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at Liberty Mortuary. Private burial will take place at a later date at Westview Cemetery.
Richard Thomas McClellan, 42, of 114 Lee Street, died Friday, September 22, 2017 at Cannon Memorial Hospital. Born in Easley, Richard was the son of Tommy R. McClellan of the home and the late Nancy Prince McClellan. Richard was a 1993 Graduate of Liberty High School and was employed with Data Trac. He loved music but more especially college and NFL football. He was of the Catholic faith.
Surviving in addition to his father is a sister, Annette McClellan of the home.
The family will be at the home. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.libertymortuary.com
It's serviceable but it is stale. One of the joys of my genealogy days was finding obituaries of my ancestors, and when I finished reading them, I felt as if I knew them - or at least knew them better. This is facts and figures and cold hard data. It is not the story of my brother's life.
But obituaries do not come cheap. Had I published this one, we'd be in a deeper hole than we find ourselves in now......
Richard McClellan
Liberty, SC
Richard Thomas McClellan, age 42, died unexpectedly on Friday, September 22 at his home. He was a teller of stories both true and slightly embellished; a lover of music, from smooth jazz (no, really) to European metal; a fanatic about sports, especially his beloved college football; and a connoisseur of both fine German brews and cheap American swill. He was a great cook as long as the instructions read "peel back the foil from tater tots...." or similar wording. He knew sports statistics backward and forward, kept track of all the college teams -- especially his beloved FCS/I-AA teams, and watched wrestling when it was "rasslin'." He had the fortune to be singled out by The Nature Boy Ric Flair (WHOOOOO!) at a house show and did an amazing impression of him.
His laugh was infectious, and in the midst of his storytelling, he would get so cracked up that he would lose track, lose his voice, and start crying. He did impressions that made everyone laugh, and he had a memory like a steel trap. He was a savant with dates, an ability that astounded everyone. He carried around 40 tubes of lip balm and still couldn't keep track of them. He hated having his picture made as an adult, but we have managed to find a few. He had a wanderlust for driving around all over the mountains of North Carolina, the back roads of Georgia, places in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and once drove to Memphis just to spend the weekend. He loved telling of his 11:00 AM drink in BB King's bar on Beale Street, just to say he'd done it.
He loved live music, and had the privilege of seeing some of his favorite bands when they were not too far past their glory days. He loved everything from George Strait to George Michael, and had an odd penchant for "yacht rock." No, I didn't get it either. Richard had many quirks which would cause you to shake your head in bewilderment, but you never stopped loving him. If anything, it probably made you love him all the more.
He is now reunited with his mother, who preceded him in death by 18 months, and his dog Maddox, who preceded him by 9 months. Mama is now back with her favorite child (we all knew it, ha ha ha), and with his beloved "Smaddikins." Together they will roam heaven on crumb patrol. Having to learn to live without his physical presence are his father, Tommy, and his sister, Annette; his coworkers at DataTrac, and former coworkers at First Franklin, Perception, and Greenwood Mills; a legion of brothers from his high school days (all of "Mama's Boys"); friends from all over the US who knew him as Catamount Man or other varied aliases from his football messageboards; and countless others who may have benefited from his kindness and acts of charity.
Yes, and that only covers a part of who my brother was. I had 42 years of beautiful memories, but what I wouldn't give for 42, 52, who knows how many more.
This picture was taken at one of the few concerts we attended together. When I learned that Pearl Jam had put Greenville on the 2016 tour, my brother -- not a huge PJ fan -- said, "You *ARE* getting tickets, RIGHT?" Yes indeedy. We went to the show and had a fun time. He laughed about my musical choices just as much as I did about his. It was one of the best nights of my life.
28 comments:
Beautiful, Annette. So glad you two made this concert and the pic together.
That was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I pray that you and your Dad can find peace.
That was absolutely beautiful!!! I loved to hear him laugh. It was so infectious. He will be missed. Praying for you and your dad.
Tears. That was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person. Love to you and Tommy.
Annette, what a beautiful tribute for your brother. Obits should be like this one. They should let the reader know who the person was, not just the dates and facts. Between birth date and death date there is lot of living that needs to be remembered. I'm glad you remembered them for your brother. Peace to your heart, my dear friend.
Still cant believe youre gone, plenty of great Liberty High School Memories. Gone but never forgotten. Sleep on richard
Such a loving tribute. He sounds like a fun and unique person, and I’m grateful you got him as a brother. Sending love and praying for comfort. xoxokd
Thank you! We did have fun that night!
Thank you so much. We appreciate the kind thoughts!
Thank you Sheila! We appreciate the prayers! He did have that laugh and when he got rolling..... I'm going to miss it so much!
Thank you, my sweet cousin! He was one of a kind and the world is dimmer tonight -- but the stars are brighter.
Exactly.... the in-between is ours and my brother tried so hard to make the most of the dash between the dates.
Oh Kirby! Thank you, sweet friend, for your kind remembrances of Richard.
Oh Kimmy, he was. I'm grateful too. I couldn't have had a better one. We made each other crazy at times but love was always there.
I am so glad you have those sweet memories to hold onto. My heart goes out to your father. He has a different kind of grief. No parent should have to bury a child. Praying for you both to find comfort in each other.
Thank you Holly -- and yes, so true. He has experienced my pain (losing a parent, losing a sibling) but I will never know his. I cannot begin to imagine..... bless you and thank you so much for your prayers.
Annette, I don't know that I've ever met you in person. I knew Richard from school. I thought about posting this on Facebook, but I didn't want the "sorry for your loss", etc posts because it wouldn't be for that reason. Richard was so much fun, always up for a joke and had no qualms with poking fun at others and was great at taking fun poked at him as well. The best kind of comedian, in my humble opinion. But I wanted to tell you a story about Richard that will always be my memory of him. When I was in 10th grade and Richard was in 11th, we were both on the Track team together. I, as usual, was a smart aleck. I made a joke with another kid on the team and he didn't like it. I apologized. He continued to try to make a fight of it. As I walked away from it, the kid sucker punched me flat to the ground. Richard jumped over me and shoved the kid and got him to leave and flagged down the coach to come over to me. It always stuck with me. He truly was a treasure of a person. He'll always have a place in my heart.
Hi David -- I'm not sure we've met either but any brother of Richard's is in my heart forever. This sounds just like something he would do. He could tolerate a lot but outright meanness was not one of them. I'm glad he was there for you that day and others. Bless you for sharing such a sweet memory of him. I will forever treasure that picture into my brother's life. ❤️
So heartfelt, he had to be a great guy for his sister to write so lovingly of him. Keeping you in my prayers.
I appreciate your frustration with published obituary columns. Iy is obscene that a public newspaper chooses to charge $500
for a very basic death notice. Add the details you want folks to know and the price just keeps going up. In 1997
an obituary notice in the same paper would have been $18,
Our family chose not to pay that kind of ransom. The problem is then that people who are not on facebook may not even
KNOW that their friend or acquaintance has died! Shame on the newspapers for not having a public service listing of
death announcements, as a free service to the community.
Thank you for honoring your brothers memory. I pray that you and your father will be comforted by God's love for you.
Thank you, sweet friend! He was definitely one of a kind, and I'm so proud to have been his big sister. Thank you so much for the prayers -- we will need them.
Thank you so much. I loved reading all those obituaries from years ago and it is sad that it's all about the ad revenue. I don't need four-color pages to tell me about the news. But yes, here I could honor him. And I thought of a million things I left out.....
Thank you for the prayers. We truly need them!
What a beautiful sentiment. More people will read this than the paper one.
Sending you love. Xoxoxo
Love you so much, Caro. I am thankful you loved each other as you did. Sending you much love & prayers for peace. Hazey
Thank you, my dear friend. And I probably could have gone on and on....
My sweet Hazey, thank you so much. We appreciate the prayers so much!!!
Annette, this is Jamie Crawford. I, along with everyone else, was shocked to hear about Richard's passing. Growing up together, I have so many fond memories of Richard, you, and your parents. I wasn't able to attend the services because of me being a Single Father of 5 beautiful children. But, I said my good-bye's in my own ways. As I was reading the scripture, I felt compelled to sniff every page. It's not something that I normally do, but as you spoke so eloquently about his little quirks, it's hard to forget that one. Richard and I haven't spoken in a very long time, for as life so often does, it leads us down different paths and with me having a large family, especially now, all of my time is spent with them. There will never be another Richard "McRibbah" McClellan, and all of those memories he and I made throughout the years, will forever remain where they've always been, in my mind and heart. We always hear that time will heal wounds, that may be somewhat true, but I wouldn't want it to totally heal. As crazy as that sounds, I'd rather be left with a visible scar. For it will serve as a constant reminder of what caused it which will allow us to reflect upon those wonderful years we were blessed to have known and loved Richard and your entire family. You and Tommy have my deepest condolences, my prayers, and my Love. God Bless
Oh Jamie -- you had me laughing with McRibbah. I hadn't thought about that nickname in years!! I know that you would have been there if you could, but to know you have been thinking of us is so very appreciated. Please continue to pray for us, especially Daddy. I too hope the scar never heals fully -- scars are signs that whatever hurt didn't win. Thank you brother, much love.
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