Franklin has lost one of its brightest lights with the passing of Patti McClure, affectionately known throughout the community as “Miss Patti.”
McClure died on Monday, Sept. 28, and friends and family were quick to honor her life of service.
“I’ve known Patti since 1978, when she moved here,” said Nancy Scott. “She moved in right behind my house, and we’ve been friends ever since. We were both teachers, and we just hit it off.
“She had such a dynamic personality – an oversized personality for that little tiny frame,” Scott said. “She was everywhere, doing everything, raising money for causes. Before the church bazaar, she went to every store in town to get something, and they were happy to give it to her.”
Landon Swafford flew from his home in Washington state when he heard of McClure’s death. He was bubbling over with memories of Miss Patti and what she meant to him.
Swafford was a close friend of one of her sons, Chad Salenius, while growing up in Franklin.
He brought a letter by The Franklin Press office that he had written in her honor.
“You are the strongest person I know,” he said in the letter. “You made us all happier and a better person just by being around us. I’m a better person because of you.”
Swafford recalled the positive influence McClure had on his life.
“I was in fourth grade at East Franklin, and she was teaching first grade or kindergarten,” he said. “After school I would go down to her room and she would help me read better. She was just a great lady.”
McClure was well known for taking kids on trips, at no cost to anybody but herself.
“She’d load up kids and take them to Atlanta, to ball games and concerts,” Scott said.
“She had however many tickets, and each boy could take a friend,” Swafford recalled.
Swafford said McClure called her from a nursing home where his grandmother was also a resident.
“Three weeks ago she was in my grandma’s room and called me,” he said. “I didn’t call her back. I had lots going on, like we all do. Then she went into hospice.
“I’ve fought wildfires for 20-something years out west, and I’ve met some amazing, tough women in my life, but I’ve never met anybody stronger, mentally and physically, than that little lady,” Swafford said.
One of McClure’s many community activities was the annual Entertainment Tonight talent show she hosted every year to benefit First United Methodist Church missions. She also provided some of that entertainment.
In 2018, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce honored McClure with the Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award its annual banquet.
“To call Miss Patti go-getter is an understatement,” said Scotty Corbin as he introduced her. “You never tell Miss Patti ‘no.’ And because of that ability to convince us all, we become better people ourselves. Her excitement is contagious.”
McClure spent her lifetime helping and inspiring others, from her career as a teacher to her tireless work in the community.
“Miss Patti gives until most people would be at their wit’s end, and that’s when Miss Patti is just beginning,” Corbin said at the 2018 banquet. “She’s energetic and an amazing creative force. She’s one of a kind and selfless, and deserving of much more than applause and a trophy. … We are a better place to live because of you.”
Offered the mic to say a few words, an emotional McClure thanked the chamber for the honor.
“This is one of the happiest moments of my life,” she said. “I absolutely love living in Macon County.”
And Macon County loved being home to Miss Patti.
“My world is certainly duller today without Patti,” Scott said. “It’s a duller, sadder place.”
Patti McClure’s obituary information was not available by press time on Sept. 29.