Dorothy Croft McClure

Dorothy Croft McClure, 89, went peacefully to her heavenly home on Sunday, May 7, 2017, with family by her side.  Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Monday, May 15, 2017 at Hillcrest Cemetery with Rev. Elwyn Johnston officiating. Born in Temple on February 3, 1928, to Richard Alvin Croft and Ona Lee Dickey, Mrs. McClure was a lifelong resident of Temple.  She was a 1945 graduate of Temple High School.  After completing Hieronymus Business School, she worked for Retail Merchants Association, an early forerunner of present day credit reporting agencies. She was united in marriage to William Dan McClure on August 4, 1951.  After time as a stay-at-home mom, she returned to work as the administrative assistant at Federal Land Bank Association.  She was a member of Bethel Church. Descended from early Texas settlers, her great great grandfather, Philip Jefferson Allen, applied in 1828 to immigrate to Texas as one of Ben Milam’s Mina colonists.  Arriving in May, 1835, he soon joined the Texas fight for independence from Mexico.  With the help of his father’s freight wagon business in Tennessee and South Carolina, he was able to provide arms for the Texas army and was stationed at the Alamo for a time.  Her great great grandmother’s brother, Martin Walker, was one of Sam Houston’s scouts and was wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto.  Her great grandfather, Philip Hansborough Bell Allen, was the first Anglo child born in what would become northern Hays County.    Mrs. McClure was an avid gardener and was happiest outdoors.  She enjoyed sewing, reading, puzzles, and her computer.  She believed in the benefits of exercise and faithfully followed her regimen daily.  She always seemed to know without being told when someone was ill or needed an encouraging word. Preceded in death by her husband on November 30, 2012, and her parents, those left to cherish her memory are her son, Rick McClure, and wife, Robin McClure, of North Richland Hills; daughter, Dianne McClure, and husband, Al Schoppe, of Temple; 3 grandchildren (Hunter of Denali, Alaska; Erin and Connor of North Richland Hills); sister-in-law Lois Kiker of Coppell; numerous cousins; several nephews; several great nieces and great nephews; and her devoted canine companion, Rusty, whom she adored. Services have been entrusted to Scanio-Harper Funeral Home in Temple.