Kristin Lynne McClay

She is survived by her parents Charles & Barbara McClay and her three brothers Victor & Robin McClay of Warner Robins GA, Phillip & Doris McClay of Fountain Hills AZ and Steve & Julie McClay of Harrisonburg VA, a number of nieces and nephews; and her aunt Betty Cox of Morgantown, WV.

Preceding Kristin in death are her grandparents Charles & Ruth McClay of Plymouth IN and Ernest & Mabel Blake of New Cumberland WV.

The family will receive friends 1-3 pm, Friday, December 4, 2020 at Lindsey Funeral Home in Harrisonburg. A graveside service will be held, 11 am, Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Woodbine Cemetery with Rev. Tim Frost officiating. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.lindseyharrisonburg.com.

Kristin (Krissy) was born with Downs Syndrome and heart abnormalities that threaten her very existence in her early years. Her development was slow, taking months longer than normal to roll over, hold her head up, crawl, feed herself, first steps etc. Her general health improved and the heart problems declined. She attended a special needs school in Kokomo IN, age 4 and in Fairborn Ohio, age 6. Her vocabulary was limited and she was mentally like a toddler. She was a happy child who loved and was loved by her parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. She attended Shepherds Home & School in Union Grove, WI from June 1975 to April 2017 and went home with family for Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays. Christmas was her favorite holiday and she loved Christmas carols. She like to sing along in church services, off tune, but good volume. Her favorite movies were Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music. She began to have mobility problems while home on summer vacation 2005, and began using a walker and wheelchair by Christmas 2007. In May 2017 she developed a blood infection from a canker sore in her mouth. Her recovery left her with very limited mobility and her being in long term care at Oak Ridge. She loved her friends and teachers at Shepherds, the staff and her friends at Oak Ridge and was loved by those who knew her. She never owned property, possessed money or means, but she had a profound impact on those around her. She memorized John 3:16 and often told us that Jesus died on the cross for you and for me. Krissy is much loved by her family and will be missed.

Fond Memories

Kris was always with her parents at Christmas and she enjoyed shopping. She would be towed in her wheelchair, by holding on to a shopping cart while mom or dad pulled the cart from the front. People seeing her pleasure would smile at her as she passed by, sometimes being greeted with Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! That always got a big smile

The family went to the local 4H fair. The boys went to see the small animal exhibits. Kris stayed with mom and dad in one of the sewing and baked goods buildings. We were watching Kris, watch a lady with a big spool of cotton candy on a paper cone. When the lady discovered us watching she looked at Kris eyeing her cotton candy and said to her “I’ll bet you’d like a bite of this?” and Kris leaned forward and took a big bite of her cotton candy. The lady then gave the cotton candy to Kris.

Family vacations were tent camping. Kris had no fear of the great outdoors and would readily explore on her own, requiring our complete attention to corral her in camp. Her ability to take off at any opportune moment, was a problem when the rest of the family was setting up camp. The solution was to tie a short rope around her waist and tether her to a tree or anything to restrict her to camp until camp was set up. She saw the rope restraint as a challenge and would set down to work on the knot around her waist until she was free. She became proficient at freeing herself before we had camp set up so the waist restraint evolved into a shoulder waist harness with the knot on her back. She still could free herself from the new escape proof restraint, but not before we could get camp setup.

Kris had a stuffed frog with long arms and feet with Velcro pads that she wore around her neck. A friend bought the frog for her shortly after Kris went into long term care. Frog and Kris were inseparable which was only a problem when the frogs’ feet, that were fastened together right below her chin, became soiled with food and needed to be washed. It was always a hassle to take the frog away from her long enough to clean its feet. Mom bought her a second frog for Kris to wear while soiled froggy was being washed and dried. A short time later, Kris had 2 frogs on her neck.

Kris would and did wonder off on her own frequently. The family along with grandparents went to a theme park and grandparents watched Kris while mom, dad and brothers made a pit stop. Upon return grandparent were setting waiting on us, but no Kris. The family headed out in different directions to find her, a routine we had performed dozens of times. One of her brothers found her about 500 feet away setting on a rock watching the crowd go by.

On another family outing we were a small lake and campground for a picnic. There was a nice playground and a small train ride concession where tickets could be purchased. During pickup of lunch items with the boys off on play equipment Kris went missing. Not a big issue because she liked to swing, slide and play, so I took off for the playground expecting to find her. No Kris. Not a lot of play area to check and a good field of vision surrounding the playground but still no Kris. I noticed the train ride was running and one child riding. I didn’t think it was Kris because a ticket was required and she didn’t have money. When I walked up to the ride it was Kris riding and the ticket taker said she just got on and he started it up with every intent to let her ride as long as she wanted, no charge.