Thelma MCCLELLAN

1921 - 2026

Jun 6, 1921 - Mar 12, 2026

Thelma McClellan was born on June 6, 1921, to Tom and Catherine Cooper. Her birth took place in the home of Dr. Weasel in Garfield, WA, the same place where her only sibling, Vuelta, was born 22 months earlier. The family started farming in Garfield, then moved to Spokane Valley to an irrigation farm on North Progress Road. In 1923, the family finally settled in Fairfield, WA. Thelma started school in Fairfield and was one of the few pupils to attend all twelve years there, graduating from high school in 1939.

After graduation, Thelma attended Northwestern Business College and was a secretary at the Spokane County Agricultural Conservation Office in Spokane. She married Earl McClellan, who graduated in the same class at Fairfield as she did, on October 17, 1941. At the time, Earl was an accounting professor at Northwestern Business College, and later he became an accountant at Shell Oil Co. Earl's parents were Rhea and Georgia McClellan, and they farmed near Plummer, ID.

During World War II, Earl's father fell ill and was unable to continue farming. All of Earl's three brothers were in the war, but Earl had not passed the physical, so he was still in civilian life when his father was forced to retire. Earl and Thelma gave up their city careers to take over the family farm. The living was quite rustic - no electricity or telephone until after the war ended. Also, due to the war, there were very few laborers available to help on farms, so Thelma not only took on the usual household duties of a farm wife, but drove truck and helped with other farm activities. Thelma and Earl had three children, Dennis, Eileen, and Bonnie.

The kids all helped maintain a large vegetable garden for the family's meals. Thelma cultivated a big, beautiful flower garden for her own enjoyment. The family liked to go to Rocky Point and Coeur d'Alene Lakes in Idaho, and enjoyed boating with close friends, the Moss family. They spent time at Downs Lake with her brother-in-law's family, the Falks, and enjoyed getting up to the mountains to pick huckleberries. Thelma traveled extensively through the United States and internationally with her immediate family, extended family, and volunteer activities, and she took many pictures of her adventures.

Thelma worked hard, and she also loved to volunteer any spare time she had to important community, state, and national organizations. She was active in the Fairfield Presbyterian Church, the Fairfield Grange, and the Homemakers & Garden Club. She was the Ladies Auxiliary National President of the Soil & Water Conservation Service for four years, which involved a great deal of traveling and work. She was an excellent hostess, record keeper, photographer, and leader.

After their kids had all left home, Thelma and Earl decided to move into Fairfield, and Earl commuted out to the farm. Georgia, Earl's mother, fell and broke her hip not long after, and Thelma ended up caring for her for the rest of her life. While she was caring for Georgia, she decided to take a Certified Nurse's Assistant course at the Fairfield Good Samaritan Home so that she could give professional-level care at home. She impressed her instructors, who told her they were short on help and would love to have her join their staff. She told them she could maybe help out for a while, which turned into 21 years of service.

Earl passed away at home on May 5, 2002. A few years later, Thelma finally decided to retire from the nursing home and farming. She started spending her winters in Mesa, AZ, in a 55+ community where her sister, Vuelta, lived year-round. She found a home right across the street from Vuelta's home, and they enjoyed five years of winter visits with each other and with family members who came to visit them.

Vuelta eventually decided to move closer to her daughter, Barbara, in Kansas, at which time Thelma also gave up her winter home and moved full-time to Holman Gardens, an independent living community in Spokane Valley, WA. She moved there in September 2010, and quickly made friends with residents and staff. She participated in many activities offered at Holman Gardens, and she volunteered to lead the hospitality committee, who were responsible for welcoming new residents to the community, introducing them to others, bringing them to activities, and most important, showing them the ropes of the dining room schedule. Of all the things she did at Holman Gardens, the hospitality committee was the activity she enjoyed most, and only after enduring advanced macular degeneration did she finally pass on the baton in 2025.

In the fall of 2025, Thelma moved to Sullivan Park Assisted Living. She didn't like giving up her hostess and caretaking roles one bit, and it was hard for her to let other people take care of her. She still did her best as a hostess, insisting that her guests enjoy whatever she had on hand. After a brief illness, she passed away in the wee hours of the morning of March 12, 2026, at the age of 104.

She was predeceased by her parents, Tom and Catherine Cooper; her sister, Vuelta Falk, and brother-in-law, Irwin Falk; her husband, Earl McClellan; her son, Dennis McClellan; her daughter, Eileen Wint; as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and even grandchildren (Robbie Wint and Les Morrill).

She is survived by her youngest daughter, Bonnie Fitzsimmons (Richard McCloy); by nine grandchildren, Steve (Angie) Wint, Jennifer Wint, Denny (Nico) McClellan, Don (Josie) McClellan, David (Mary) Gibbs, Andrea (Josh) Wood, Julie (Corey) Robinson, Matthew McClellan (Christy Fuchs), Jenny Fitzsimmons (John Rademacher); by 18 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren; by nephew, Jerry McClellan; niece, Carolyn (William) Wallace; niece, Barbara Madewell; and many great- and great-great-grandnieces and nephews. She is also survived by her dearest friend of more than eight decades, Betty Roecks, whose support (along with her son, Eric, and his wife, Pam) helped Thelma during the challenges in her last few years of life.

A family graveside is planned for Thelma later this year, with a Celebration of Life to be held at Holman Gardens.