Funeral services for Paul McClung, age 95, of Brownwood, will be at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 in the Heartland Funeral Home Chapel with his sons and grandsons officiating. Burial will be alongside Lucille and many from the Wilmeth family in the Ebony Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday evening from 6:00 until 8:00.
Paul died Friday, May 10, 2013 in Brownwood.
Paul McClung was born June 6, 1917 in Fredrick, Oklahoma, the 4th of 6 children born to Burnie and Lula Mae McClung. When Paul was 6 months old his parents moved to a farm 6 miles north of Springtown. Paul began preaching in 1934 while still in high school, preaching in various churches in and around Springtown. He was encouraged to enter the ministry by his parents, his older brother Fred, and his uncle, Claude McClung.
In 1935 Paul entered Abilene Christian College as a student of Bible. He helped pay his way by preaching on weekends. For 3 years Paul preached monthly for the Oaklawn church of Christ in Ft. Worth, riding the train from Abilene to Ft. Worth. During his last year in college, Paul preached twice a month for the church in Lipan TX and twice a month in Justin, Texas. The Justin church asked him to come there full time, which he did when he finished college.
On April 7, 1939 Paul married fellow ACC student Lucille Wilmeth of Ebony community near Brownwood, where her family was among the first settlers.
The family served Churches of Christ in Justin (1938-40), Gilmer (1940-41), Ardmore OK (1941-43), Plainview (1943-47), Lamesa (1947-53), Wichita Falls (10th&Broad Church of Christ 1953-59), Amarillo (1959-63), Wichita Falls (Faith Village Church of Christ 1963-72), Fort Worth (Meadowbrook Church of Christ 1972-74), Atoka OK (1974-76), Jacksboro (1976-83).
After retirement in September 1983 Paul and Lucille moved into her parents’ old house on Norwood Street in Brownwood. Soon after, the 4th and Stewart St. Church of Christ in Brownwood needed a preacher and asked Paul to serve. Paul preached there for 17 years, until he retired again in April, 2000. After retiring the 2nd time in April 2000, at the age of 83, Paul continued to teach Bible classes and fill the pulpit at various times. Then he served as an elder in the 4th & Stewart congregation for 5 years, from age 85-90, which was almost as demanding as preaching. He continued to conduct funerals and perform weddings until after he was 90 years of age.
Paul saw so many changes in churches and customs throughout his 70 years of preaching and had many interesting and humorous stories to tell. He tells how in Springtown – the church where he attended growing up – that men and woman sat on different sides of the building. Shortly after Paul moved to Plainview Texas in 1943, in the middle ofWW2, the town got its first radio station. Paul preached on it for 30 minutes on Sunday mornings and a 15-minute slot during the week. Since the station was a novelty, and eager to hear news of the war, most people in town listened to it and came to know Paul that way. Shortly, after he moved to Lamesa in 1947, that town opened its first radio station, and Paul had a daily 15-minute program. Again, most people in town listened to the new station – and Paul. Many of the small towns in that area of Texas did not have full time preachers – such as Muleshoe, Tulia, Kress, Lockney, Floydada, and Happy. They thought of Paul as their preacher as they knew him by radio, and he was asked to preach many of their funerals. He preached in meetings or lectureships at one time or another in most every town of any size in the Panhandle to the Southern plains of Texas.
Paul and Lucille lived in the old Wilmeth house on Norwood St. until 2006, when they moved into CARE Retirement Center in Early. Lucille preceded Paul in death in Jan. 2010, after a marriage of almost 72 years.
The McClungs have 3 children, Martha and her husband Neil Carroll of Comanche (Gustine), Larry and his wife Gail of Irving, and Paul Wilmeth (deceased). They have 6 grandchildren Celeste Carroll, Kevin Carroll & wife Kathy, Kent Carroll & wife Karey, and Kerry Carroll & wife Michele, Brian McClung & wife Cheni, and Lana & husband Brian Fain. They have 10 great-grandchildren, Kason and Kastin Carroll, Taylor and Rylee Carroll, Cooper, Cash, and Kinley Carroll, Luke and Alec McClung, and Eliot Fain.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to the Jamaica School of Preaching, in care of Gustine Church of Christ, P.O. Box 160, Gustine TX 76455.
Condolences can be offered to the family at www.heartlandfuneralhome.net
