David Thomas McClellan

David Thomas McClellan 1956 - 2025

David McClellan, age 69, of Denver, Colorado passed in his home on July 12, 2025. He was born in Denver in 1956 to Mary Jane and Calvin McClellan, who moved “out west’ from Michigan to raise their family. Dave attended Denver Public Schools, Ft. Lewis College, and Colorado State University. David was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his siblings Jim (Carrie) and Patty (David Tullos). He never married or had children but was delighted to spend time with, and devoted to his nephews/niece, Andy (Kelsey) and Patrick (Sean) McClellan, Scott Petre (Ashley) and Jill Guest (Alex). Grand-nephews Jones (6), Oggie (5), Brooks (4) and Calvin (4 months) loved Uncle Dave, too!

He worked in commercial construction as a Plumbing Design Engineer and knew the inner workings of every King Soopers in the area like the back of his hand. Dave’s hobbies included hiking, biking, skiing (in earlier years), traveling, and coin collecting. He loved exploring the mountains and thrived under the challenges of his Outward-Bound experience as a teen.

Members of the family wanted to honor David by sharing some personal favorite experiences.

Memories of Brother Dave

David was a humble, caring, generous person that I had the luck to be related to and the privilege to have as a friend. We shared many motorcycle trips, family vacations and celebrations over our lifetime. The two of us made plans this September to take an “historical field trip” up the Ohio River Valley that definitely would have included taverns. We’ve taken similar trips before this too, one in Georgia, where we just drove through the state. Others in Florida, the mountains, Utah, Arizona, etc., some by motorcycle and some by car

He donated a considerable amount to the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Society. He never said a word. I found a receipt this week when going through his things.

He also had a mysterious side. He would respond to a text or voice mail on his schedule. He would disappear from a party. He would buy a car or motorcycle and just show up in it. He bought a Lincoln Continental that was almost new. The battery died about a year later while sitting in his driveway. He never drove it again. It’s still there. There is a motorcycle in his basement.

He was not a fashion horse. He would wear glasses with tape over the bridge, mail order tennis shoes, new jeans in the heat of summer. He cut his own hair. It wasn’t for budgetary reasons. It was just who David was. He was his own person.

David also was on the spectrum. That was not even a term for that when we grew up. Being on the spectrum is a disability that manifests itself in many ways. In his case, he was a brilliant engineer but also socially awkward. But even that served him well to a degree. He was quirky, likable, very funny but could be confusing at the same time. It was who he was.

I always wondered how much my behavior as a brother contributed to his social skills. Because of that, I felt a responsibility to lift him up as an adult as often as possible. I think we’ve all done that.

We will miss him so much. Jim McClellan

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My Brother-in-Law Dave

I met Dave fall of 1977. He was Jim's best man in our wedding September 6, 1980.

Dave was a lifelong bachelor with no children. His "kids" were his niece and nephews - Jill, Andy, Scott, and Patrick. He was so proud of each one of them. He attended school activities, graduations, and weddings.

We moved to Naperville, IL November 1993. Dave, their parents Calvin and Mary Jane, Patty, Scott, and Jill came to Naperville for Christmas 1996. A wonderful memory of that trip was going to a Christmas play downtown Chicago and after eating at Italian Village. Dave, Patty, Scott, and Jill returned to Naperville for Labor Day weekend 1997.

We moved back to Denver in January 1999. We had camping trips with Dave, Patty, and the kids. The first camping trip Dave was not comfortable driving in the mountains so Jim and I took turns driving his Bronco with Dave. In 2005 Jim's parents joined us on a trip to Lake City staying in cabins not tents!! Dave T. brought his boat and the kids had fun driving and fishing.

February 2022 Jim and I invited Dave to Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, FL. Their cousin Peggy and husband, Dale, joined us for two days. Dave really enjoyed the ocean views, breeze, and experiencing one of our favorite spots.

The last time I saw Dave he met Jim and me at Randy's Pizza. It had become a favorite of the three of ours for their Italian sausage sandwich. After lunch we met Patty and Dave T at Jill and Alex's home. There Dave met his great nephew, Calvin, named after Jim, Patty, and Dave's Dad.

Dave always greeted and said goodbye to me with a quick kiss on the lips and hug. I will always remember that last smooch.

We will miss Dave terribly. May we all find peace and comfort in thinking he is reunited with his parents and family who went before him.

Carrie xoxox

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My brother Dave was so much fun to travel with! Even has a child he always had fun facts about bridges, architecture, locomotives, you name it. As young adults we loved to go exploring and camping together. Dave, his friend Kelvin and I camped, hiked and fished our way through Yellowstone into Montana and up into Banff. He took me to climb one up to Colorado's 14ers, Mt Wetterhorn, and didn't show his disappointment when I had to turn back within about 30 feet of the summit.

He was the catalyst for our Big Family retreat to Lake City two years ago. I’m so thankful that he traveled with Dave T and I to spend an early Thanksgiving last fall with the Texas Petre’s. He loved seeing how much fun the boys had with the rockets he surprised them with. (I did, too!)

He loved family get-togethers but didn't want to host so he bought me a dining room table to have dinners at my house. We enjoyed many Christmas morning brunches at that table and I'm so grateful that for his most recent birthday we were able to grant his request for "meatloaf à la Mom" there. He was kind and gentle, and pretty funny!

I could go on and on. I miss my little brother so much!

Sharing love, Patty

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I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with Dave McClellan! We went on many fun vacations and had a lot of great adventures together. Dave had a brilliant mind and a great sense of humor! I am also thankful that he told us he was diagnosed on the spectrum one day. After that day, I read everything I could about people who are living on the spectrum and have learned so much because of him. I don’t think our civilization could’ve come as far as it has without the high functioning people who have autism.

Dave will definitely be missed by all of us David Tullos

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I have very fond memories of spending with Uncle Dave at Grandma and Grandpa’s home in Evergreen. Going down to the pond by the barn down from their house.

I remember lots of camping trips with all the cousins and one specific year uncle Dave got very upset Andy had made the campfire way too big and he grabbed a fire extinguisher from his Bronco.

He was always very supportive of all of his nieces and nephews. Going to each of our weddings and loving spending time with our children. Uncle Dave was a great support to Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association and would always join us on our annual “Team Oggie” walk in September.

He will be missed and I hope he is at peace with the other McClellan’s.

Patrick

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My Uncle Dave was always a part of our camping, jeeping, and vacation trips and on these trips he'd always find a way to build up my confidence, even from a young age. Once we were on a vacation in Jamaica, where we had the opportunity to do some cliff jumping. I was 16 and quite intimidated at the thought of jumping 30 feet into the open ocean, so Uncle Dave told me that if I'd jump he'd jump too. There was only one problem ... Uncle Dave was nearly blind without his glasses and they surely could not make the jump with him, but he was willing to jump off a cliff-face, nearly blind, to give me the encouragement I needed to try something new. I jumped, he jumped, we both made magnificent fools of ourselves and had a great thrill, escaping without a scrape. Moments like these are a great encapsulation of Uncle Dave, a little quirky but incredibly thoughtful and led by love. When we were together for our most recent family camping trip to Lake City in 2023, we talked at great length about how important "family" was and the work required sometimes to keep a family together. For a man that never had a partner or children of his own, he sure put a premium on the love he showed his parents, siblings, and extended family. I felt that love often and in countless other moments like these. Uncle Dave was a world class gift-giver (I have an inflatable moose-head somewhere to prove it), had hours of stories to tell, loved a good joke, and always wanted to hear about my adventures. Whether it was part of a holiday gathering, on a family trip or just a brief get together I'd always look forward to my chats with him. I'm broken hearted to know those chats will have to wait for a while now, but so grateful to have had them. I hope to be the kind of man you were to me, to my nieces and nephews one day. I'll miss and love you forever.

-Scott

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