Jan McClain has always felt called to help people, volunteer and organize events, big and small, in churches, neighborhoods and Army bases around the world. Her generous spirit and contributions were recognized when she was awarded the First Army Military Wife of the Year!

Jan’s grandparents came to Oklahoma to claim homestead land in the ‘Sooner’ Land Rush in 1889. Jan was born in Alva, OK, a college town of 6000 residents, and remembers it as being a great place to grow up.  She and friends would ride bikes, have slumber parties, play with pets, perform in school plays and musicals and go to movies. She had an older sister and aunts and uncles nearby. Jan started voice training when she was nine and continued to pursue music throughout her life.   

Jan’s father owned a car body shop and later a dealership in Alva. Her mom, who could sew anything, worked in a department store as a buyer. Her Mom sewed the first strapless evening gown, in gold lame and gold taffeta, in about 1940 for Jan’s sister to wear at the University of Oklahoma. It was quite a sensation! When Jan was 15, she spent a year at a boarding school in St. Louis called Principia. While Jan was most reluctant to leave home, she found the experience to be a wonderful opportunity to interact with a very diverse group of students and receive an excellent education.  

Jan’s family was very involved in the Presbyterian Church in Alva. She attended the youth group, sang in the choir, participated in all the events and read the Bible with her mother daily. Jan received a scholarship in drama at the University of Oklahoma. At age 15, Jan had met an older, smart, handsome and romantic young man named Ken McClain. He told her he planned on marrying her someday. After four years of pursuing Jan, they married in 1952, since he was in the Army and being sent to fight in the Korean War. To support herself, Jan worked as a model for a local department store. Since she had switched her major to TV journalism, a friend alerted her to a job opening at a TV station in Oklahoma City; she was hired and worked there until Ken returned home.

While in the Army, Jan and Ken moved 17 times in his 20 year career: Ft. Sill, Oklahoma where their son was born; three locations in Germany where their daughter was born and where in Bayreuth, Jan arranged – on six hours’ notice – a dinner for eight at the Officers Club to host the American Ambassador and the granddaughter of Richard Wagner, among others; Jonesboro, Arkansas (for Ken’s second time in the Korean War); Lawton, OK (while Ken went to the Vietnam War); Ft. Knox, Kentucky; Killeen, Tx; and several of these locations for repeat assignments. In many posts, Jan was the President of the Officers’ Wives Club, the President of the German-American Women’s Club, sang in choirs in every chapel and church, organized groups and performed for countless gatherings, volunteered as Room Mother, Cub Scout Leader, even as a Red Cross ‘Gray Lady’ to support women needing assistance in the medical hospitals and dispensaries.

Ken had a junior officer friend who had grown up in Ft. Collins and spoke highly of living there. When thinking about where to retire, Jan and Ken decided to visit a number of places along with Ft. Collins, to see this ‘idyllic town’ for themselves. Through another friend, Ken was recommended to a life insurance company and after a visit, was offered a job. Jan and Ken spent over 40 years in Ft. Collins and did find it to be ‘paradise.’ Through self-education and additional course work, Ken became a very successful registered investment advisor. 

Jan, always interested in learning new skills and helping others, volunteered for Meals on Wheels for over 20 years. She worked as a cosmetic specialist, first for Neusteters Department store and later as a commercial freelance specialist for seven companies. Jan loved that her job was helping women feel good about themselves and showing them how to look their best. She was given specialized training in skin care and color design by all the big cosmetic companies, such as Lancome, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder. She was then hired by the different companies to promote their products in department stores and boutiques from Cheyenne to Colorado Springs. 

Ken passed away in 2010 after 58 years of marriage. Jan continued to live in Ft. Collins near her church (First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Collins), friends and many activities. In 2013, Jan moved to Parker to be near her daughter and her family. In 2017, Jan moved to an apartment in the Central Park neighborhood, following her daughter and her husband in order to be close to new great grandchildren coming into the world through her granddaughter. A friend from church in Ft. Collins suggested to Jan that if she was moving to Denver, she should visit Montview. Upon visiting, Jan was impressed by Montview’s traditional service, community involvement, classes and excellent music. She had found her Denver church-home. Jan, who has read the Bible through four times, had always participated in Bible studies. So, she and her daughter, shortly after moving to Central Park, decided to start one on their own. At first it was just the two of them. But thanks to Pat Shephard from Montview, several members joined not long after and the study has consistently had seven to eight members since! Jan and her daughter enjoy attending Montview together almost every Sunday.

Jan has two children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Daughter Cathy, a retired banker and accountant, lives here and regularly assists Jan with appointments, groceries and support. Son David, retired from the CIA, lives in Texas and has long weekly phone conversations with his mom. Jan has retained her love of music, history, being with different groups of people, learning new subjects and staying on top of current events. Due to problems with her eyesight, she has started relying on the Talking Books Library and has a wonderful contact librarian who sends her an excellent selection of books that interest her. Every year, Jan reads over three dozen books and this year is no exception. She enjoys her apartment building for seniors in which she lives and participates in the Great Courses put on by the building, social gatherings with friends and her ability to walk in the gardens.

Jan’s faith was instilled by her mother, with whom she read the Bible daily as she was growing up. Jan’s lifelong positive outlook, generous engagement with and encouragement of others, spirit of volunteering, interest in learning, cultivating friends of all ages and her faith clearly have been strong influencers on Jan’s decades-long journey through life and a Montview member worth getting to know.

– Submitted by Brooke Durland and Jan McClain