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 monter, 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
libraary. 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 faiath. 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.
