John Alan McClain

John was born in Portland Oregon to Eugene (Steve) and Isabel McClain on the winter solstice. He was the first of two sons, Donald being added two years later. At the age of 16 he met the love of his life, Linda Lee Austin, while attending Cleveland High School. She remembers him buying a Model A and cutting off the roof to make it a convertible only to have it rain for a week. Their romance was put on hold as the army needed his services in the Korean War. After his service they were reunited and married June 14, 1957 (flag day). One year, one month and one day later their first son was born, Todd Austin. Two years later Matthew Stephen arrived.

While living in Eugene Oregon he happened to hear of a couple of homes for sale that had a grass airstrip in the backyard. Dragging Linda to Lacey (just to have a look) he was positive this was where he wanted to live. Linda was the one who picked which house and they proceeded to pack a U-Haul and move into their new home where they lived for the next 57 years.

John didn’t have a job when they moved. He was confident he could get a job anywhere. He was a Salesman and always said a good Salesman could sell anything. He sold oxygen supplies, paper products, street signs, cars. After his sales career he took on hobby jobs building airplane and blimp parts and wooden boats. He wasn’t defined by the job he had. He worked just enough to provide for his family. During one of his car salesmen stints he wrote newspaper articles for The Choice News Tribune in Kelso. Growing up he was a camp counselor for the YMCA and he wrote about his adventures climbing Mount St Helens in tennis shoes or boating across Spirit Lake in a sinking army surplus duck truck.

He was always in pursuit of the next leisure activity. His key to life was “always be moving” and his activities reflected that. He made his own wetsuit to try scuba diving. He raced his MG at the local track. There were years of downhill and cross-country skiing, fly fishing, hiking and gold panning. He built a car roof rack so he could take the family biking at Point Defiance. He entered bike events and cycled across Oregon a number of times. There was a motorcycle phase where he would rip through the countryside on his BMW, later a Honda. He bought a Cape Cod Cat boat and taught the family to sail in Budd Inlet.

And then there was flying. John learned to fly in the early 60’s. He purchased a Luscombe 8A and hangared it at Thun Field in Puyallup. Later, when the family moved to Lacey, he purchased a staggerwing home built biplane (Sorrell’s Son-of-a-Beech) that he kept in the two car garage. Always an early riser, he liked to crank up its18 hp Cushman golf cart engine and go up in the still air of the morning. There were gaps in his plane ownership but unlike his other pursuits his passion for flying never waivered. He was always looking for his next airplane and in 1988 found a disassembled Bolkow 208A Junior. It took about a year to get it licensed and flying. John was a fair weather pilot that didn’t really go anywhere. He wasn’t interested in flying around the country but you would see him at local fly-ins and airshows. He would tent camp under the wing and sit in his lawn chair and swap stories with anyone wandering by. He took his last flight (at nearly 90 years old) on 11/18/23 to deliver an airplane magazine to his son, Matt, in Yelm.

John was not a real joiner but was past President and Treasurer of his local EAA chapter. He felt it important to preserve our flying freedoms. Later in life (in his 80’s) the backyard hanger became his refuge and he liked nothing better to open the doors and tinker with his planes (also had a 1962 Stitts Playboy) or sit in the sun with Linda in their lawn chairs watching planes fly in and out.

John never finished college but you’d probably never meet another individual that was more widely read. He could hold a conversation with anyone on airplanes, boats and cars. Want to talk about religion, history, philosophy, aliens, numerology, bigfoot? He was up for it. He loved the mysteries of the universe. He thought that limericks were the highest form of literature. His power number was 9. He enjoyed having an afternoon nap and was adept at lucid dreaming. He would recite a quote and have you scratching your head wondering why. He always said he didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up. Well, he grew up to be a loving husband, a great father and a good friend.

John was preceded by his parents and his brother, Don. He leaves behind his wife of 67 years, Linda, sons Todd (Cindy) and Matt (Maria), Grandsons Travis (Shauna), Owen (Hailey), and Jaymes (Tricia), and great grandchildren Shaw, Darby, Miller and Everett.

As per his wishes, John was cremated and his ashes will be spread across the land. There will be an open house Celebration of Life on Saturday July 13, 2024 between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm at the historic Jacob Smith House, 4500 Intelco Loop SE Lacey, WA