Gerald Warren McClellan

Obituary

Gerald “Jerry” Warren McClellan departed this world at the age of Ninety-Nine and a half on December 14, 2023. He was born on May 18, 1924 to Vera Lillian McDonough and George Alma McClellan, Jr. in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jerry’s young life was up-ended when his mom died before his 1st birthday. Vera’s sister Maude and her brother Curtis and his wife raised Jerry in Los Angeles during the Great Depression.In a difficult time in the nation’s history, he excelled as a young man especially as a student-athlete. A standout at Hollywood High School, Jerry lettered in varsity football and baseball. He went on to play college football in the “flanker” position at the University of Southern California under the iconic Trojan coaches of the mid-century, Jeff Cravath and Jess Hill. After Pearl Harbor, Jerry joined the United States Navy, serving in the effort to liberate the Pacific from the Empire of Japan. In the mid-years of the war, Jerry served aboard numerous escort carriers, essential to achieving naval supremacy, also known as “jeep carriers” or “baby flattops”. In 1945, he served as a quartermaster and helmsman on the first crew of the USS Midway, which was then not only the largest aircraft carrier, but the largest ship in the world. After the war, Jerry finished his education and married Ellen Elaine “Pat” Barry, to whom he would remain married for over seventy years, until her passing in 2017. They moved to Covina, CA amidst the orange groves of the San Gabriel Valley, where Jerry began his career as an educator and a coach. Jerry and Pat started their family in Covina, where they brought up their three children Patrick, Robert, and Susan. The family made life-long friends in Covina in the 1950s with other young families also building their lives after the war.With the opening of Corona del Mar High School in 1962, Jerry was offered the opportunity to help lead the new school. The family moved to the beach community of Corona del Mar and soon thereafter bought the family home Dad would reside in until his passing. Jerry served as Assistant Principal of Corona del Mar High School until his retirement in 1987. During his tenure, he hired and mentored some of the most beloved and long-standing teachers at the school. Almost daily, for 20 plus years, he could be found on campus engaged with students. Through his caring, sense of humor and stable presence at CdMHS, he knew and influenced thousands of students across parts of three decades, guiding them in ways that helped shape the rest of their lives. Jerry’s three children all graduated from CdM while he was there, as did three of his grandchildren following his retirement, Michael, Tyler, and Gunnar McClellan. Many of their best teachers were those that Grandpa Jerry had hired years before.Following his retirement, Jerry began a “second career”, working part-time as a model and actor in print and television advertisements. When he was not working, Jerry could be found at the Balboa Yacht Club, where he served as Fleet Captain, volunteered on the Race Committee and sailed in multiple Ensenada Races. He loved playing bridge and other card games with friends, but he would be the first to tell you that his wife Pat was better at bridge than he was. He and Pat traveled often with friends and family around the United States, to Australia, and elsewhere. They loved Hawaii, and frequently spent time on Napili Bay on Maui. Jerry remained astonishingly active throughout his life, still swimming laps until he was 99 years old. He continued to drive until a week before his passing, and attended the most recent family Thanksgiving where he cracked jokes at the table and spent time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He now joins his wife Pat and his granddaughter Elisabeth in heaven. Jerry and Pat were long-time attendees of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. Jerry is survived by his three children Patrick, Bob, and Sue McClellan, their spouses Jennifer, Stephanie, and Darla; his grandchildren and their spouses, Matthew and Poppy, Michael and Samantha, Tyler and Alexandra, Gunnar and Diana; and his great-grandchildren Catherine, Phoebe, Scarlet, Ellia, George, Violet, Louis, Lincoln, and Julien. After his mom passed away, his dad, George, remarried back in Utah. George and Marvel had four children- Jean, Ken, Rae and Bobby. Even though dad lived in California, he was able to meet his half siblings and eventually build a relationship with that side of the family.Jerry lived through a tectonic century of American history. His father George was born in a settlement that lay in the path of Pancho Villa’s revolution. Jerry was born when Calvin Coolidge was President. As a young man, he served his country in uniform to defeat fascism, and spent his prime working years educating Americans during the Cold War. He actively participated in the history being made in his own lifetime, led by example with character and grace, and loved his family, his community, and his country. Although he was a living piece of the past, he always seemed to face every new era with a smile. He was adaptable and in his twilight years, he liked to “comment” on his grandchildren’s Instagram pictures, “followed” family and friends on Facebook and occasionally shopped for his khaki’s on-line using his iPad. Per his wishes, in lieu of a traditional church service, a private commingling and spreading of his and Pat’s ashes at sea off the coast of Newport Beach will take place later this year. A celebration of his life will take place around that same time, details to follow.Very few have shown others how to live graciously for so long. His family, friends, and neighbors in Corona del Mar and Newport Beach will miss him dearly. He will be missed, but not forgotten.Donations can be made in Jerry’s memory to the charity of your choice.