Samuel McClendon

Sam McClendon, age 86, of Waco passed away on September 14, 2021. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, September 21st at the Waco Memorial Park Chapel located at 6623 South Interstate 35, Waco, Texas 76706. There will be a visitation in the Chapel following the service.

Sam was born in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from high school there. He then attended the University of Texas in Austin where he met the love of his life, Donna Peoples. Sam graduated from Texas in 1958 with degree in mechanical engineering. Donna and Sam married that same year and moved to Waco in 1959, when Sam took an engineering position with Hercules Corporation in McGregor, Texas, from which he retired in the year 2000.

During their years together, Sam and Donna traveled extensively all over the world. But one of their favorite places was Red River, New Mexico, where they owned a condominium alongside a beautiful stream. They spent many happy days there until, sadly, Donna passed away in 2012.

Sam was a kind and gentle soul who was generous with his smiles, his laughter and his money. He saw beauty in nature and in people and captured it through his photography. There was a calmness about him that made those around him feel at peace.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Donna, and his sister in law, Ola McClendon. He is survived by his brother, Jim McClendon of Temple, Texas, and his nephews, Mark McClendon of Glendale, Arizona, and Marvin McClendon of Oakwood, Georgia.

Memorials may be made to the Waco Foundation, the Texas Rangers Association, Central Texas Senior Ministries, and the Humane Society of Central Texas.