Luther William McClellan

Luther W. McClellan of Old Monroe, MO, passed away Saturday, March 21, 2026, at the age of 86. Loving husband of 55 years to the late Ruth Ann Kern-McClellan; beloved son of the late Irvin and Helen McClellan; devoted father of David (Sharon) McClellan and Cheryl (Justin) Apperson; cherished grandfather of Amanda McClellan, Connor McClellan, Olivia (Teddy) Ivanov and Lilly (Mathew) Mitchell. Beloved brother to Bob (Sue) McClellan and Linda (Late Kenneth) Letterman. Uncle to 4 nephews and 1 niece and friend to many.

Born on a farm in Willow Springs, MO, Luther and his family moved to St. Louis, MO in the mid-1950s due to droughts. His family returned to Willow Springs during his Senior year of High School. Luther chose to stay in St. Louis after graduating from High School. Luther worked for multiple employers including Keasbey and Mattison Company, Nighthawk Freight, General Auto Parts and McCabe-Powers Body Company. He worked as a production worker; mechanic; welder; electrician; and truck driver. Luther loved building racing engines, drag racing, and racing Sprint Cars. After marrying Ruth in 1962 he gave up racing cars and began building drag boats and focused on working his way up to Night-Shift Superintendent at McCabe-Powers.

Later, he learned about a startup company M-R Plastics and Coatings, Inc. They were impressed with Luther’s self-taught engineering capabilities, and he ended up working there for 13 years. During this time period he bought an airplane which he cherished. Luther was a Work Alcoholic’s Work Alcoholic. During his time at M-R, he also worked nights and weekends on the side on various equipment installations and construction projects. He eventually started a Urethane foam spray & injection business on the side and in 1979 with a former partner of M-R formed Maclan Industries, Inc. Together, they later went on to buy U.S. Polymers, Inc. and formed the Accurez Corporation all of which are leading manufacturers of specialty chemical products in the United States. In 2001, he sold his interest in U.S. Polymers and Accurez and bought all outstanding shares of Maclan Industries. Together he and his son David who is a Chemical Engineer forged on ahead and also jointly formed Restoration Technolgy, LLC and Coact, LLC.

During his career Luther built numerous manufacturing plants, process equipment for them and received 2 Patents for maintenance of way equipment for the railroad industry and built over 40 Urethane tie Pluggers and Epoxy Repair Machines for railroads such as the Union Pacific, Illinois Central and Wisconsin Central. He always planted vegetable gardens and banana trees. He was also a Mason and a member of The Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Even though he required caregivers the last 9 months of his life including his daughter, son, John Childs, Michelle Cockrell, Diane Sprock and April Stone, he refused to quit. He was always on the phone with his, son, trusted staff and vendors wanting to tweak equipment and buildings. He finally succumbed to pneumonia the last week of his life. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. 

All services are private. But a Celebration of Life for family & friends will be held in the near future. Please check back April 1st, 2026, for the date, time, location and RSVP link for Luther's celebration. 

In lieu of flowers Memorial contributions may be made to Shriner's Hospitals for Children or to the Children's Hospital.