Eudis Odis McLean Jr.

Eudis Odis McLean, Jr. (aka Odis, "Odie", "Mac", "Doc") much beloved husband, father, brother, and grandpa (Boppa), was born Nov. 7, 1947 in Houston, TX, to Eudis Odis McLean, Sr. and Essie Louise Riddle, and passed into the arms of Jesus, his beloved Savior on Oct. 19, 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents Eudis Odis McLean Sr, and Essie Louise (nee Riddle) McLean, 2 sisters (Barbara Feagin Sindajos-nee McLean- and Dianna McLean), and his first wife Deborah Kay (nee Garrett) McLean.

After graduation from South Oak Cliff High in 1966, he enlisted in the Army with his high school buddy Ricky Mitchell, and served 1966-1969 in Vietnam, then in Italy--where he fell in love with everything Italian and hated to leave when discharged. Later, he honed his outstanding foreign car mechanic skills at several shops, earning the nickname "Doc" by fellow mechanics --"Doctor able to conquer the most difficult problems that we can't figure out". He opened his own successful auto mechanic shop, specializing in foreign cars: "McLean's European Auto Repair Inc.", selling it and retiring in 2015. He also served our church as a Deacon, and looked forward to cooking for Men's monthly meeting. He was known and cherished for his happy flexible fun personality with his head thrown back and a big laugh, his willingness to drop everything to help someone, his intelligence, his enjoyment of cooking/creating in the kitchen, working with Karen on their Food Blog, traveling to his beloved Italy 3 times, the Spades card game and "going Nello" and winning! and his love of God, Karen, family, and friends. He did his best to do Eph. 2:10--"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Following the passing of Odis's and Karen's first spouses to cancer, was a marriage of Fun and Fulfillment on many levels: Fun cooking together and traveling, with 3 trips to Odis's beloved Italy, like unwrapping a many-layered gift as we traveled to different parts, and revisiting other parts, discovering the kind, helpful people of Italy, their culture, the food--oh my, the delicious food. After their first trip in 2005, they started to do serious Foodie cooking together, trying to recreate some of those Italian meals eaten there. Then came a Food Blog that they worked on together, along with trips in the car to Disney's Food and Wine Event, Savannah GA, and others. They also had fun withtheir growing family, which led to 1 grandchild calling him "Boppa" because she had trouble saying grandpa. So Boppa he became, and was given a T-shirt to prove it--which he loved and proudly took with him to Italy to wear! "World's Most Awesome Boppa"!

Heaven gained a great treasure in him--to know him was to love him and enjoy being around him. He was a fun, caring, self-sacrificing guy, ready to help, ready for most anything. We thanked the Lord all the time for the deep love, laughter over everything, and enjoyment we had with each other, and for the Lord bringing us together in a marriage truly made in heaven. He would agree with me, that we had the "Oneness" that God desires for each of our marriages, and a close relationship with the Lord. He loved all of his family so much, as well as his friends. He was truly my "most interesting man in the world". And so much more.

We thanked Him nearly every day for what He had done for us, growing us into a beautiful "Oneness" that is the essence of what the Lord not only wants every marriage to be, but more importantly, what He desires in a relationship with each of us. Understanding today at a deeper level, more than ever, trusting the Lord alone, and not having my dear husband to lean on, but instead, The Great I Am.

He is survived by his beloved wife Karen (Parsons) McLean, his 2 children, 3 stepdaughters and their spouses : Jason Garrett McLean and wife Christie, Andrea Lynn Beckner and husband Kenneth, Holly Parsons Saucedo and husband Scott, Heather Ann Parsons Feuerbacher and husband Jeff, and Heidi Elizabeth Parsons Mercer and husband Jeff, 9 precious grandchildren, Daniel McLean, Deborah McLean, Nathan McLean, Logan Beckner, Kaitlyn Saucedo, Hayden Saucedo, Eleanor Feuerbacher, McCoy Mercer, and Mabry Mercer, his brother Kurt McLean, and many loved family and dear friends.