Shirley O. McClenny

Shirley O. McClenny passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, after a series of vascular episodes due to her advanced dementia.  She was 87 years old.

She was born in Dahlgren, Virginia in 1938 where she lived what she remembered as an idyllic life on her parents tiny homestead in biking distance to her small town that centered around the Lower Station, Dahlgren Proving Ground. Her childhood included summers at the proving ground pool with her siblings, cousins and friends. She loved school and graduated from King George High School in 1956, where she played basketball and cheered for the King George Foxes football team.

After high school she moved to Richmond, Virginia to attend Richmond Polytechnic Institute before going to work for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company where she made lifelong friends and met her husband of 57 years, Donald O. McClenny. Shirley and Don lived life to the fullest with their family and lifelong friends. Shirley loved being with friends and visiting family more than anything else. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother known for her sweet smile and gentle disposition. She liked to stay active, playing golf in her younger years and bowling into her early 80s. Her nose was always in a book, often rotating between  2 or 3 at a time. She and Don nurtured close family ties, like their parents before them, making wherever they were, feel like home between Richmond, the Outer Banks of NC and Ophelia Va. Food, music and laughter, lots of laughter, surrounded every gathering, with memories lasting the test of time for all who shared in the love. She knew where her blessings came from and gave her life to Christ as a young mother.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Bertha and Elwood Olive of Dahlgren, VA; her sister and brother in love, Phyllis and Hank Horne of Tucker, GA, and brother, Floyd Olive of Dahlgren, VA; her beloved husband, Don and her parents in love, Maebelle and “Mac” McClenny of Richmond, VA; and so many other precious family members and friends.

Shirley is survived by her brother, Chester Olive of Charlottesville, VA; her Brother and Sister in love, Robert and Nancy McClenny of Glen Allen, VA; her two daughters and sons in love, Sheryl and Kirk Gibson of Glen Allen, VA and Donna and Marty Griffin of Kill Devil Hills, NC; her grandson and granddaughter in love, Matthew and Sydney Gibson of Glen Allen; her granddaughters, Annabelle and Emmy Griffin of KDH; her great grandson, Owen Gibson of Glen Allen; nephews and neices, Mary, Larry, Barry, Jeff, Chet, Donna, John, Ted, Jeff, Jason; and so many other precious family members and friends.

A celebration of Shirley’s very full and blessed life will be held at 2pm on November 9, 2024 at Ridge Baptist Church, 1515 East Ridge Road, Henrico, VA 23229 . All who loved her dearly are invited to attend. Gallop Funeral Services was entrusted with arrangements.