William Jefferson McClure

Bill was born on August 4, 1922, in Charlotte, NC, to William Earl McClure and Mae Dee McIntosh McClure. His family moved to Goldsboro, NC, in 1928, and he graduated in 1939 from Goldsboro High School. That year he entered the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His studies were interrupted in 1943, when he was inducted into the Army. He served with the 94th Infantry Division, 3d U.S. Army, in the European Theater, landing on the beaches in Normandy, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, and serving with the occupation forces in the former Czechoslovakia. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant in a rifle platoon and was honorably discharged in 1946. He returned to UNC to complete his studies and graduated in 1947 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce. He then entered law school at the University of Florida and graduated with an LL.B. degree in 1950. In 1950 Bill went to work for J.M. Tull Metal & Supply Company in Atlanta. He spent his entire working career with the company, serving as personnel manager, sales manager, and in other positions in Georgia, Florida, and Virginia.

In 1948 Bill married Betty Lacy, daughter of Dr. Ben Lacy and Emma White Lacy. He was utterly devoted to her until his death. He is survived by Betty and by their daughter, Dee McClure Cash and her husband, Frank Goldsmith, of Asheville; their daughter, Susan McClure Hughes and her husband, Stuart Hughes II, of Williamsburg, VA; their son, William Jefferson McClure, Jr., and his wife, Nancy Crannell McClure, of Raleigh; by six grandchildren, Joshua McIntosh Cash of San Francisco; Stephen Lacy Cash of Asheville; William Jefferson “Trey” McClure, III, and Lacy Alston McClure, both of Raleigh; and Elizabeth Dee Hughes and Stuart Manning Hughes, III, both of Williamsburg, VA; and by a great-granddaughter, Wren Marjukka Cash of Asheville.

Bill was active in civic affairs. He served as president of the Capital City Kiwanis Club in 2006 and 2007 and was named Kiwanian of the Year in 2006. He was also a leader in Christian Ministries in Bedford, VA, for many years, and was active in his neighborhood associations in Moneta, VA, and in Raleigh. He was ordained as an Elder at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and was a member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. He was a man of keen intellect, kind heart, and absolute integrity, a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and a friend to anyone in need. His family and friends feel the pain of his loss but are grateful for the exemplary life of this wonderful man.

A memorial service will be held at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, Oberlin Road, Raleigh, at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 4. A gathering of family and friends will be held on Sunday, October 3, 2010, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 St. Mary’s Street.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages a memorial gift to The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, One East Wacker Drive, Suite 2810, Chicago, Illinois 60601-1905, or www.dystonia-foundation.org.

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