Donald P. McClurg, 81, has cashed in his nine lives. The vibrant, hard-working, opinionated and relentlessly positive man, born September 5, 1936, passed away on September 10, 2017 in Carthage, North Carolina.
Donald is survived by his wife Barbara McClurg, his siblings Joyce O’Kelly, Gerald McClurg, Larry McClurg, Linda Coe; his children Dianne Tranks, David McClurg, Darien McClurg, Matthew Carr, Shawn McClurg, Stephanie McClurg; and his eight grandchildren Rayla, Eric, Katie, Logan, Orion, Zayden, Jade, and Otto.
Donald McClurg was a proud father, an avid and voracious reader, an unrelenting chess player and a great storyteller with a gift for sarcasm, wit and satirical compliments. Donald’s passion, curiosity and business endeavors allowed him to experience multiple lives in a single lifetime, the scope of which may never be fully known. Professionally, he was an entrepreneur with numerous forays into printing, restaurants, marketing, writing, photography, festival/event development and sales; although his children think he missed his true calling as a food critic and/or fashion mogul.
Canaan Valley was always a very special place for Donald. He established roots there in the mid to late 1970’s as the tourism industry boon began where he, along with many other Canaan Valley mainstays, spent time raising his children. Donald always felt an immense pride in contributing to the development of Canaan Valley as a four-season resort destination and often spoke with great fondness for both the area and the community of people residing there.
The family will be holding a memorial service in Canaan Valley during the summer of 2018, the date still to be determined. Please contact Stephanie McClurg at stephaniemcclurg@yahoo.com and/or Shawn McClurg at shawnmcclurg@yahoo.com for more information.
