Richard A. McClain

Richard A. "Dick" McClain, 76, of Bourbonnais, passed away Wednesday (March 26, 2014) at his home. Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bradley, with Father John Antczak officiating. Following Mass, burial will be in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Presence St. Mary's Cancer Center or Hospice of Kankakee Valley. He was born Jan. 10, 1938, in Kankakee, the son of Ollie and Iva Bertrand McClain. When he was young, his mother married his stepfather, Claude Drazy. Dick graduated from Kankakee High School in 1956 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He married his high school sweetheart Janice F. Belisle on Dec. 31, 1960. Dick left the Navy in 1967 with the rank of Chief Petty Officer (E-7) for an appointment as a Signal Corps Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army. Dick completed three tours of duty during the Vietnam conflict. He retired with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer (CWO-3) in 1976 with a total of 20 years of military duty. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, National Defense Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with five campaign stars. Following his military retirement, Dick was employed for five years at the Roper Corp., Kankakee division in the Appliance Engineer Division. He left Roper in 1981 to pursue a career as an electronic vocational instructor where he spent 10 years teaching electronics to grades 11 and 12 at the Kankakee Area Career Center. Dick received his associate degree from Kankakee Community College and worked toward a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University. Dick had a passion for bowling and in 1986 he accomplished a "bowler's dream" at Gala Lanes. He experienced the thrill when he rolled a perfect game along with a three-game 814 series, consisting of scores of 300, 247 and 267. Surviving are his wife, Janice; daughter, Wanda Gifford, of Bourbonnais; son, Richard McClain Jr., of Tucson, Ariz.; son and daughter-in-law, Michael McClain and Marien Sorensen, of Davis, Calif., five grandchildren, Christopher, Chloe and Maya McClain, Bruce Jr. and Lauren Gifford; sister, Donna Brenyas, of Florida; sister and brother-in-law, Kay and Larry Vilt, of Bonfield; half brother, Dennis McClain, of Peoria; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Wayne Walker, of Kankakee; nephews and nieces, Kevin and Brenda Lamb, Guy and Melody Vilt, and Jason and Jeanna Walker. Also surviving are two aunts, Celeste Regnier and Jeanne Regnier, of Bourbonnais; close family friend, Grace "Missy" Minor; and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and stepfather; nephew, Richard Lamb; niece, Marty Vilt; half sister, Kathleen McClain; half brother, Mickey McClain; in-laws, Leroy and Magdalene Belisle; and brothers-in-law, Brian Belisle and Theodore Brenyas. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley - hkvcares.og or to Presence St. Mary's Hospital - www.provena.org/stmarys/‎

Richard A. McClain

January 10, 1938 - March 26, 2014