Shirley June (McElhaney) McClain

Shirley June (McElhaney) McClain died at home on July 17th at the age of 81. Shirley was born at her grandparents' home outside Witter, Madison County, Ark. on July 28, 1933. Her parents were Ray McElhaney, also of Madison County, and Elsie (Sell) McElhaney, originally of Cheyenne, Okla. She was preceded in death by her two sisters, Eva and Iva, and her brother Charles, as well as her ex-husband, Bill McClain. She is survived by her three children, Tony McClain and his wife Jana of Houston, Texas; Lisa McClain-Vanderpool of Denver, Colo.; and Terri "Kat" McClain and her husband Ernie of Centreville, Va. There are seven grandchildren: Chris, Andy, Steve, Milo, Simon, Oliver, and Rose. There are five great-grandchildren: Katy, Ryan, Grace, Charlotte, and Tony. Shirley lived in Witter, Ark. until 1943. At that time her family moved to Wichita, Kansas where her parents worked for Boeing. In about 1949 the family moved to Ottawa, Kansas. Shirley graduated from Ottawa High School in 1951 and moved back to Wichita, where she worked as a secretary at Beech Aircraft Company. She married Bill McClain, also from Wichita, in 1958 in Denver, Colo. They lived in Golden, Colo. and she worked as a secretary for the Martin Company in Denver while he studied Mining Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. In 1960 they went to Newcastle, England so that Bill could pursue his PhD at Newcastle Upon Tyne. From there they moved to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where Bill worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1964 until 1979. At that time they moved to Rapid City, S.D. and then to Gaithersburg, Md. in 1984. Shirley worked for the FDA in Rockville, Md. as a branch secretary from 1989-1995. She moved in with her youngest daughter Terri in Centreville, Va. in 2007 and lived there until her death. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and continued to battle several forms of cancer for the remainder of her life. Shirley was always interested in art, literature, politics, history, and current events. She enjoyed learning about any and all subjects. She and Bill highly valued education and instilled that value in their children. She was an excellent dancer and she and Bill spent many hours on the dance floor together. She will be missed.