Martha McClelland

After a short battle with pancreatic cancer, Martha Ann McClelland, 76, entered the gates of Heaven on Saturday, June 7, at 3:09 PM.

Ann was born at the old St. Patrick's hospital in Lake Charles, LA, on August 15, 1948. Soon after she entered this world she was diagnosed as mentally retarded, later re-diagnosed as having a severe learning disability, along with mild cerebral palsy. Born at a time when there was only one special education class with a long waiting list in the whole parish, by the time she was in the fifth grade, her parents made the courageous decision to send their little girl to a state boarding school for children with disabilities which she attended until she was 17. Because of the educational offerings of that state school, the little girl with a poor societal prognosis grew to be able to drive a car, work as a hairdresser for almost 50 years, run her own personal business, keep her own accounting books, and live independently after the death of her parents.

At the age of 10, Ann accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized by her pastor, Dr. T.V. Owens, at Boulevard Baptist Church. She took to heart the call of service for Christ by putting her "baby whisperer" skills to use for many years in the Bed Baby Department of Sale Street Baptist Church. She was faithful to attend Sunday School and church in later years. As many disabled people will be able to tell us, they often suffer the slings and arrows of a society that doesn't understand disabilities. Ann was no different. But because of Jesus, she was able to "love her neighbor as herself" and never once did her family ever hear her complain of mistreatment even though at times it was severe and often came from friends, family (including her church family), or co-workers. She was the Miracle Girl of the McClelland family and we are proud of her.

She is survived by her sister, Judith McGinnis, her niece Rebekah McGinnis-Kent (Joseph), and her great niece Jaeda Racca (fiancé-Logan White), as well as many friends and cousins. She is pre-deceased by her parents, Archie and Daisy Lou Hebert McClelland, her paternal grandparents, T. G. and Floy Love McClelland, as well as her maternal grandparents, Frank and Etta Stine Hebert.

The family would like to thank Dr. Benjamin Williams, Ann's PCP of many years and Dr. Mohammed Khan, her hematologist/oncologist, as well as Southern Home Health. A huge thank you goes to Heart of Hospice and Ann's dedicated nurse extraordinaire, Sally, her care aide Kay, social worker Julie, and Chaplain Don Moon. The family also extends a public and heartfelt thank you to the young men who have walked this journey with us from the very beginning, offering spiritual comfort, devotionals, communion, prayer, visits, and lots of laughs; Jeff Bankens, Ray Bowman, Darrin Goodwin, Andrew Mattingly, and Drew Mills. The family also thanks every person who prayed, brought food, moved furniture, completed "honey-do" jobs, volunteered to sit, visited, fixed locks, notarized legal papers, and installed safety bars. Thank you to Rebekah McGinnis-Kent for serving as our runner and personal shopper, Joseph for helping her with these chores, and Cassandra Browning Freese for being a dependable volunteer for anything we needed. Last but certainly not least, we are so thankful for the ladies of Pamela Ann's Hair Salon who included Ann in their team, always treated her with the utmost love and respect, and have been a major support to her during this journey.

In honor of Ann's love for children, college basketball, and veterans, donations may be made to the following organizations:

St. Jude®

https://www.stjude.org

The V Foundation for Cancer Research

https://www.v.org

Tunnel to Towers Foundation

https://t2t.org

Visitation will be Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Johnson Funeral Home, from 1:00pm until 3:00pm followed by a Celebration of life service beginning at 3:00pm led by Andrew Mattingly.