WARREN MCLELLAN 1954 - 1981 PILOT AMA MKC DEN Thanks for running the speech I have made several times. Hope everyone enjoyed reading about my Carrier warfare exploits. Seems like a long time ago, and it has been. I presume that I will never get over that experience. Your Frontier News gets better and better. Keep up the good work. FAL employees are the only people, and their families, who know how much we enjoyed our work. It was the best airline going,and it was good to be a part of FAL. Outsiders are the ones who helped ruin the best in the business. Now they are all reaping the harvest of foul seeds. -Warren McLellan (4/19/03) Just want you to know the little girl in the 1981 photo of Sonje, Sue and Joy is my granddaughter. She is Mindy Mc Lellan,and lives in Dallas. The day the Frontier News arrived I also received her wedding announcement, for June 19, 2004. She is in her second year at SMU Law School. The picture was made at the DEN airport on my retiring flight. This flight arrived from Mexico. My select crew for the last flight was Sonje, Sue and Joy. Wanda, my wife, was also on the entire flight to Mexico and return, I think the whole crew enjoyed that trip. Vic David was F/O. That flight was a most memorable flight. As you know Vic was hit by a car here in FSM several years ago. I have the original photo in my retirement book, Thank you for printing the picture. -Warren McLellan (4/21/04) Hi Warren, Got your letter today and thanks for your support. I hope to see you at the FSM-FYV Reunion this summer. I know you were based in AMA and MKC in your career. Where else were you based? Regards, Jake (1/17/07) Sunday evening at 9:30 EDT, 8;30 CDT on PBS TV, May 27, Air group 16 will be featured on their last reunion. The very last one! Washington DC, May 2004. My story is not in the show but will be on the DVD. You can not put all the stories of the CAG16 pilots and crews in a 30 minute story. Admiral Chester Ninitz's Museum will have a good long DVD in the museum soon. I expect my story will be about 2 hours long, but it is not out yet. My wife, Wanda and I will be in some group pictures, may be. I hope you get to see the show. By the way the name if the show is: " Air Group -16 We Came To Remember" - Warren McLellan (5/23/07) I am watching a great piece on Air Group 16 on PBS High Definition. It is very well done and one of it's stars is our own Warren McClellan . You might want to check your PBS schedule for it. Here, it comes on again Friday @ 12:00 PM. It is a half-hour show. -Billy Walker (11/6/07) I just finished reading 'Clash of the Carriers' by Barrett TIllman. On at least ten pages the name Warren E. McLellan shows up with some good narrative about some of his wartime experiences including getting shot down and subsequently rescued. It is a good read if you like WWII history. All Mac ever told me about it when flying with him was that his airplane, a TBM, he said meant 'torpedoed by Mac'! I would give the page numbers but I read in electronic book form. -Ron Gallop (11/25/09) I just received word that Warren McLellan is having a pacemaker put in today 1/13/11. He's at Sparks room 477B. He also just recently had a toe amputated. -Joe Keys (1/13/11) Warren has had a round with his bad toe - he had about 1/3rd removed. During all that over 2 months ordeal it was discover that he had a too slow heart rate at times. He wore a 24 hr. monitor and just a few hrs. after the monitor removed we had a call to go to ER immediately as there was a reading of 26. That night at the hospital he had a 30 reading (I think about 60 is the norm) so Thursday about noon a pace maker was implanted. We thought he would come home today but now they say tomorrow (Saturday). His sore foot is still all bandaged and he is wearing a Velcro sandal as he has for about 2 months. This all happened so fast I just couldn't keep up to contact people. He is in Sparks in room 477-B but will probably be home tomorrow. Not the way we wanted to start off the new year!!!! -Wanda McLellan (1/17/11) Warren McLellan is in Sparks Hospital. He has a blood clot in his lung. This is all I know for now. -Joe Keys (4/23/11) Hey Warren, I heard you were ailing and just wanted you to know I'm pulling for you and hope you're better already. Best wishes, -Jake Lamkins (4/23/11) Please be in prayer for Warren & Wanda McLellan and family. Their son, Dee, passed away last night. He lived in Midland TX . Warren is still in the hospital too. This has been quite a blow to them as you can imagine. -Diane Wing Fianna Hills Baptist Church (4/25/11) Damn! That is just not right for that wonderful family to have to deal with so much. Cheryl and I have them in our thoughts and prayers! -Billy Walker (4/25/11) Hello to all my FALfamily. Very weak, on oxygen most of time. Trying to gain weight and strength. God is with us. Thanks to you. I may be improving daily. Thanks, God. -Warren McLellan (5/5/11) Don't know who knows the latest and who doesn't know the latest. We moved Warren to Covington Court Rehab last Thursday, late afternoon. Early Friday morning he called me to say he had had a good night and making plans for the day. About 1 hour later our doctor friend went to visit Warren and found he had had a stroke. He and nurse called 911 and took him back to Sparks ER. The stroke left his left side paralyzed and speech affected. He knows everyone and answers questions and usually you can understand his speech. During the day yesterday he began to move left arm and leg some but not much - his speech about the same. We are so sad for this setback for him. The Drs are in a catch 22 because the very thing they want to give him for the stroke they are afraid to do because of his weak heart. Terry spent last night with him. Scott has been here all week and was such a help getting him moved to rehab - and then back in Sparks. I have not gone to hospital yet this morning. Looks like we will have to find a rest home for him as Sparks will not keep him long unless we decide to put him in the Select Hospital on Sparks 6th floor (a hospital within a hospital). Please pray for him. Love to all -Wanda McLellan (8/1/11) Thank you for letting me know. Warren is one of the class acts of our pilot group. I am so sorry to hear of his new-found difficulties. Cheryl and I will step-up our thoughts and prayers for Warren, Wanda, and the McLellan bunch. -Billy Walker (8/1/11) I don't know if Warren can talk on phone. His No is 479-709-8421 and we will be in room to help him reach the phone tomorrow from about 1:00 pm on til late afternoon. We will put up Happy Birthday banner and some balloons but unfortunately No Cake. He did have a small few bites of applesauce today. We will open some of the cards and stretch that out over the next week. We thought it best to try to get him to hear to use the room phone as opposed to a cell phone. Next Tuesday he will have a more intense swallowing test using a tube down nose and throat and little camera to watch where small bites of food go. I�m glad we are getting to that stage but sorta scary for fear some of the food will go into lungs. The REhab people say he is making small steps of progress - very small and slow in coming but I am encouraged most of the time. Thanks so much for all the birthday cards. Love to all, -Wanda McLellan (8/13/11) Wanda said the swallowing test did not go well. Warren is still on a feeding tube, oxygen and a catheter. He has infection in both lungs. He is on antibotics for this. He is doing thearpy. They are getting him up in the wheelchair and even having him stand a little with help. We need to continue to pray for Warren and Wanda. It is a very slow process for them. -Joe Keys (8/19/11) Just wanted to update you on Warren. They had to take him back to Sparks Hospital this morning. He was running a high fever. He is in Room 505. His sugar is eradic and they are having to give him insulin. They say his heart is weakening. Please say a payer for Warren and Wanda. This is so hard on the family. Their son Scott is here and that is helpful for Wanda. They really need our prayers. -Diane Wing Fianna Hills Baptist Church (8/21/11) Ken just told me that Warren McLellan just passed away. We are all so saddened by this news. -Diane Wing Fianna Hills Baptist Church (8/24/11) We�ve lost a good one. I actually didn't spend much time with Warren while at FL, but got to know him real well while going to church with him. I had the opportunity to spend time with him when we had church fellowships. He was a fascinating guy with lots of stories to tell. I grew to love and respect him while we were together. He was a good man. -Joe Keys (8/24/11) Posted at the FL Club abd Facebook: Capt Warren McLellan has flown West ... Sadly, today on the anniversary of FL's death, we have a death in the FLamily. Pilot Warren McLellan, a true WWII hero mentioned in several books and internet websites, lost his battle with a multitude of health challenges at age 90. He was a pilot with CN/FL 1954-81 and an all-round swell guy. -Jake Lamkins (8/24/11) Got to know Warren while with CN/FL in FSM between 1963-1974, as he and his parents lived in FSM. Warren's son, Scott, was in seminary at Kansas City and I asked him to preach at FBC, Spiro, several times when we where without a pastor. Scott would non-rev between MKC and FSM, preach at Spiro and visit with family in FSM. The entire family came to church, along with Warren's parents. I rode jump seat a few times with Warren, everything from a DC-3 to a 727. A great guy that I respected and looked up to. He always set the right example and had a postive outlook. -John Redwine (8/24/11) So sad for us all to hear someone like Warren has Gone West. Warren was certainly one of the Best of the Best and we were so lucky to have known and flown with him. We all know that Warren will have clear skies, smooth air, strong tail-winds, and a bright star to steer by on his Flight West... The ache in our hearts pale by comparison to yours Wanda. But, we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. -Billy Walker (8/25/11) Warren died 2:15 August 24. We are so sad for ourselves and so glad for him. He has suffered too much these last 6 months. He is now healthy and with Dee!!!! His service schedule will be on August 27th (Sat) 1:00-2:00 family visitation at Fianna Hills Baptist Church Please help us spread the word. His obit will be in Fri and Sat papers. Love to all, -Wanda McLellan OBITUARY Warren Ernest McLellan died Aug. 24, 2011, in Sparks Regional Medical Center after a long illness at age 90. He was born Aug. 13, 1921, near Charleston to Ernest Herbert McLellan and Winnie Williams McLellan. He had three sisters, Paula Curnutt, Mildred McLellan and Eva Chambers and one brother, Bryan McLellan. He grew up in Fort Smith attending Trusty Elementary School, Fort Smith Junior High, Fort Smith Senior High and Fort Smith Junior College, graduating May 1941 from Fort Smith Junior College. Warren took a flying course at junior college and joined the Naval Air Reserve in October 1941. He became a pilot attached to Air Group 16 on the aircraft carrier USS Lexington from which he fought in World War II in the Pacific Theatre. He was shot down twice during those battles and always felt so blessed to have been rescued after each battle. Warren continued in the Naval Reserve, retiring with 23 Years of service and the rank of Commander. Warren married Wanda Stewart in Fort Smith on Nov. 23, 1944, and they lived with their three sons in many locations over the years. After the war, Warren returned to college and earned a Masters Degree in Industrial Education at Pittsburgh State Teachers College in Pittsburgh, Kan. He taught school at Fort Smith High School and Woodrow Wilson Junior High in Tulsa, before deciding to fly commercially with first, American Airlines, then Central Airlines and Frontier Airlines. He retired from Frontier with some 40,000 hours of flight time in 1981. In his time away from his career, he enjoyed spending time with his beloved family and working in service to God. He was never happier than when his family was gathered around him, especially at holiday times. Warren was a longtime deacon of Southern Baptist churches and deacon emeritus at Fianna Hills Baptist Church in Fort Smith. Warren is survived by his wife of 67 years, Wanda; two sons, the Rev. Terry Lynn McLellan and wife Kay from Carrollton, Texas, and James Scott McLellan and wife Cyndi from Tyler, Texas; one sister, Paula Curnutt of Cherokee Village; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Warren was predeceased by his parents; one son, Stewart Dee McLellan; and his siblings, Mildred, Eva and Bryan. Funeral service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Fianna Hills Baptist Church with burial to follow at Liberty Cemetery in Greenwood all under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home. The family will greet friends at the church from 1-2 p.m. Saturday. Memorials may be made to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith P.O. Box 3649, Fort Smith, AR 72913. -Southwest Times-Record on Aug 26, 2011 W E MCLELLAN Pilot seniority date of 11/21/54 Per the 9/1/72 FL/ALPA Seniority List He is not on the 9/1/81 List because he retired in August 1981 on his 60th birthday. -Jake Lamkins (8/28/11) Posted at the FL Club Warren McLellan memorial webpage WARREN MCLELLAN 1954 - 1981 PILOT AMA MKC DEN http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Warren_McLellan.html Post your remembrances of Warren. -Jake Lamkins (9/2/11) Re: Warren's webpage Such a service you perform for all – thank you very much!!!! I am sharing this address with family and friends. Warren always enjoyed your Frontier News. Most sincerely, -Wanda McLellan (9/4/11) Message flagged Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:49 PMMessage body Received your Frontier News today and was glad Warren’s obituary was included. Couldn’t believe he ever looked so young!!! I also wanted to thank you for the web page address. Many friends and family have commented how much they have enjoyed it. Thanks so much for all you do to keep people connected. -Wanda McLellan (10/12/11)