Mrs. Mary Joan McClellan

MADISON-Mary J. McClellan (Mrs. John G. McClellan) shared her love of music with everyone. She inspired countless young musicians to sing, play musical instruments, express creativity, and appreciate music. She passed away peacefully in San Francisco, Calif., surrounded by her family, on Nov. 23, 2011. Mary was an accomplished pianist. She played Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor as a senior in high school, and won a piano competition. She began teaching music in 1935, in New Albin, Iowa, and later taught in Le Mars, Iowa, where she met her husband, John. She moved to Madison in 1944, to teach in Dudgeon, Nakoma, and Lapham schools while her husband served in the European Theater during World War II. Mary taught music in the Madison schools from 1944 until she retired in 1975. The daughter of Anna (Sullivan) and John Seymour, Mary was born in Colton, South Dakota on May 22, 1913. On June 4, 1943, she married John G. McClellan who preceded her in death on April 3, 1977. Mary graduated from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa with a BA degree in vocal music. While teaching in Le Mars, Iowa her Girls Choir won first place in the national competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She took her advanced studies at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa while she also taught elementary music in the University Demonstration School, training student teachers. One of her greatest joys was the privilege of studying with the renowned composer and choral director, F. Melius Christiansen, director of St. Olaf choir and a pioneer in the art of a cappella (unaccompanied) music. After a time away from teaching to raise two children with her husband, she returned to teaching at the newly built Spring Harbor Elementary School in Madison. At a time when Madison did not have a Boys Choir, Mr. Le Roy Klose, then Music Supervisor of Madison Schools, asked her to select a Boys Choir from her Spring Harbor Children’s Choir to perform in Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Roland Johnson. After her husband’s death in 1977, Mary organized and directed the Youth Choir for eight years at St. Bernard Catholic Church on Atwood Avenue, at which time she also joined the adult choir. She was a member of the Madison Civic Symphony, the Madison Symphony Orchestra League, the Madison Opera Guild, and St. Bernard’s Altar Society, as well as a loyal supporter of Wisconsin Badgers football, with seats on the fifty-yard line. She earned a reputation for homemade apple pie that is unsurpassed. Mary is survived by her daughter, Margaret (Mrs. Reed) Kathrein of San Rafael, Calif.; her son, William (Annette) McClellan of Waukegan, Ill.; her sister, Rita (Mrs. William) Helmer of Mt. Prospect, Ill.; seven grandchildren, Jessica, Douglas, Colette, and Matthew McClellan, and Jonathan, Michael, and Eric Kathrein; and three great-grandchildren, Briana and Max Miller, and Madison Kathrein. She was preceded in death by her three brothers, Gerald, Alan, and Cletus Seymour. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH, 2450 Atwood Ave., Madison, at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Visitation will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, and also at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of Mass on Monday. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memoriam may be made to the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools, to support music programs in the Madison Public School District, by mail to FMPS, 455 Science Drive, Suite 130, Madison, WI 53711, or online at www.fmps.org. Please include a note that your donation is in honor of Mary McClellan. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memoriam may be made to the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools, to support music programs in the Madison Public School District, by mail to FMPS, 455 Science Drive, Suite 130, Madison, WI 53711, or online at www.fmps.org. Please include a note that your donation is in honor of Mary McClellan. Visitation will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, and also at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of Mass on Monday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH, 2450 Atwood Ave., Madison, at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.