St. Clair County Obits

REVEREND SAMUEL A. McLERRAN

St. Clair County Courier
3 June 2005
Reverend Samuel Arthur McLerran of Lowry City, passed away Sunday, May 29, 2005, at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital, Clinton, at the age of 92. Sam was born April 5, 1913, in Iconium, to James Thomas and Sarah Nancy Feaster McLerran. Sam’s father passed away when he was in the fourth grade, leaving his mother with eight children. His father, Thomas, operated the local sorghum mill where all the community brought their sugar cane to be processed. During the depression years Sam and his friend, Harl Duke, rode freight trains from Missouri to the state of Washington stopping places along the way to work, in order to send money to his mother, Sarah, to support the family. In Washington, Sam worked on a large cattle ranch as a cowboy, spending most of the time out on the range herding cattle. During those days he shot a mountain lion, bob cats and told of killing two coyote with one shot. He slept out on the range for months at a time with the cattle. Sam sold his saddle, chaps and hat then went to work in the Sunshine Silver Mine in Idaho. During this time Sam went back home to marry Gladys Suiter. They traveled by train back to Idaho. Their first son was born there in 1937.

The family moved to Detroit, Mich., where Sam went to school for welding. Arnold Dennis was born there in 1943. Sam welded for Freuhaff. He became a master welder and continued welding until the early 40s when he began as a full time minister. He remained in the ministry the remaining part of his life, almost 60 years. In the late 40s he felt the call to come to reopen the doors at Mt. Olive Church in Wisdom. This was his first church. After this he pastored many churches. Sam served as a minister with great passion and compassion. One of his passions was reading the Bible.

In his late 30s Sam enrolled in a Bible college where he made top grades as an older student with only a fourth grade education. He continued to be an avid reader, collected books and maintained a large library. He read the Bible more times than he could count and memorized approximately two-thirds of the Bible. During his retirement years he continued to preach and fill in pulpits and minister one on one to many, many people. Sam was able to lead his brothers, Jim, Lee and Clarence to the Christian faith. His brother, Clarence, also became a minister.

Grandpa loved to eat fried squirrel and squirrel gravy; and grandma said they could not train the squirrel dog to not tree a squirrel on Sunday because daddy would not kill a squirrel on the Lord’s day. Grandpa loved all people equally regardless of ethnicity or economic status.

Grandpa was preceded in death by his parents, James Thomas and Sarah Nancy Feaster McLerran; his brothers, Willie McLerran, John McLerran, Lee MeLerran and Clarence McLerran; and his sisters, Stella Parks and Ethel Williams.

Sam is survived by his wife of 68 years, Gladys Eveline Suiter McLerran; their two sons, Gaylord, Olathe, Kan., and Arnold, Greenville, S.C.; a sister, Bertie McLerran Warburton, Clinton; five grandchildren, Douglas and Donald, Oklahoma City, Okla., Sharon McLerran Jackson and Lori McLerran Gentry, Nashville, Tenn., and Andrea McLerran, Taylors, S.C.; eighit great grandchildren; many nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

Funeral services were Wednesday, June 1, in the Sheldon-Goodrich Chapel with burial in the Shiloh Cemetery.