Obituary of Wes McClish

WES McCLISH Wesley McClish Sr. was born March 1st 1950 in Des Moines, Iowa to Bernic (Yaw) and Lee McClish. Wes had a tough childhood being the oldest boy of 5 siblings. When their dad left he was the one to help his mom support everyone. Therefore, Wes left the house at an early age of 15 and started his career and love for carpentry work. He ended up in Clarinda working for Better Built Homes also known later as Page and Hill. He got on the welding crew helping build Eaton Corporation in Shenandoah which opened in 1971. While working there he told a guy working with him he wanted a horse. This guy introduced him to the Bob and Edna Barr Farm and they took him in as their own son. He looked up to them as parents. This was the start of a whole new family for Wes with the whole Barr family and his love for horses, which has lasted for 50 years. When the economy crashed in Southwest Iowa in the early 80’s. He packed up his family and off to Houston, Texas they went. From there as the economy continued to swing through different parts of the country, Wes went to where the economy was good building high rise condos, apartment complexes, hotels and houses in just about every state in the US. A lot of the time his brother John and his family were along with the carpentry moving state to state. As Wes always made trips back to Iowa to check on the Barr gang and Bob’s many horses. 2002 was time for another trip to Iowa as Edna was not well from cancer. He was finally ready to settle back into Clarinda after meeting Denise. Wes and Denise were married in August of 2008. Until 6 years ago he gave up the carpentry and started detailing cars owning the Car Groom. After being diagnosed with cancer in October 2016 and several battles in February 2018 he began his carpentry again on the small scale with doll houses and barns which helped take up time of being in the house. His courageous battle with cancer ended on April 28, 2018, letting him join his sons Wesley McClish Jr. and Shane Marsh; parents Bernic and Lee, parents Bob and Edna Barr, brother John McClish (February 2016) and father in-law Charles Hughes (January 2016). He is survived by his wife Denise; sons Chris Gorman and Phillip (Aundrea) McClish; grandchildren Susanna, Austin, Hailey, Whyatt, Bentley, Mylia and Able; mother in-law Norma Hughes; brother in-laws Terry (April) Hughes, Bradley (Wanda) Hughes and Shawn (Kendra) Hughes; sisters in-law Rosanne (Zachary) Cavin and Theresa McClish; brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, many friends and relatives. Funeral services for Wes McClish, 68 of Clarinda, will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at Walker-Merrick-Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel on Hwy 2 Bypass in Clarinda. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at Walker-Merrick-Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel. Memorials are suggested to Family Choice or Dr. Luke Nordquist Urology Cancer Center Research and GU Research Network. Walker-Merrick-Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel is providing arrangements.