Joe Edgar McClain

Joe Edgar McClain was born on October 16, 1934, in Denison, TX, the son of John McClain and Addiebelle Martin. Joe was called to his Eternal Home on August 11th, 2023, at the Cherokee County Nursing Home in Tahlequah, OK. He was 88 years old. As a youngster, Joe lived on a farm with his family and told stories of sitting at the base of a tree and hand-feeding peanuts to baby squirrels. His love for animals, and feeding them, continued throughout his life. Joe joined the Army on July 31, 1954 as a AAA gun crewman and achieved rank of PVT E2. He was honorably discharged on August 5th of 1957 after three years of service. In 1966, he married the woman he would spend 48 years of marriage with, Charlene (Smith) McClain. After they married, they lived in Oklahoma City, where Joe learned and perfected the art of recovering and refinishing antique pool tables. They later moved to Tulsa, where they owned and operated McClain Billiard Sales from 1968-1998 and during that time moved to the Lake Tenkiller area. Joe not only worked on billiard tables but became an exceptional pool and snooker player. He spent many Saturday mornings at Go Ye Village in Tahlequah testing his older friends’ snooker prowess. The games were always friendly and filled with laughter, but competitive. Joe loved music and always made time to listen to Chuck Berry, Elvis and his all-time favorite, Waylon Jennings. Many evenings revolved around games of cards, dominoes, chatting, laughing, and watching movies with Joe’s cousin and friend, Bill Candy, and his wife, Chris. Joe loved doing anything outdoors, especially fishing. He and Charlene would regularly go boating, fishing and camping. Any day spent on the water was a good day for Joe. After Charlene passed, Joe spent time with his beloved cats, and regularly fed the deer, squirrels, birds, and raccoons on his property. He was a funny and kind man, and he will be greatly missed by his family and his friends.

Joe is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his sister, Norma Fowler. He is survived by his sister, Bonnie Hawkins, and his five children, Joe McClain (Kim, wife), whom he met later in life, Jet, OK, Eva Kelly (McClain) Davis, TX, Mark McClain, MO, Krissy (McClain) Koehn (Neil, husband), Fairview, OK, and Lisa McClain (Chris, husband), Frederick, CO. Joe also is survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and cousins.

Funeral services for Joe Edgar McClain will be held on Saturday, August 26th, 2023, at 10:00 AM at the Tahlequah City Cemetery with his family officiating. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.reedculver.com for the McClain family.