Dianne Wilson McClelland, 72, of Bogart and formerly of Menomonie, Wisconsin, died peacefully in her home on January 29, 2022.
Dianne was born on Mother’s Day in 1949, the second of five children, to Raford and Agnes Towe Wilson of the Dry Pond community in rural Jackson County, Georgia. A childhood spent on a cattle and cotton farm provided endless summers of adventure, work, and fun for Dianne and her sisters. Upon graduating from Jefferson High School, she moved to Atlanta to continue her education. It was there that she met a soldier from Wisconsin who was stationed at Ft. McPherson, and he quickly became her one and only. She and Robert A. McClelland were married in March of 1968 and were inseparable, except for his deployment in Vietnam, until his death in 2015, after 47 years of forever love, friendship, and marriage. Together they were granted the joy of seeing their children, Jennifer Dianne, and Robert Rion, grow into incredible adults, and then to share once again in the joy of their grandchildren’s birth. Dianne considered it a wonderful blessing to have them live close by and interact with them almost daily.
Dianne excelled in academics, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees. She retired after 30 years of service form the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus and Menomonie, where she was an Academic Program Manager in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
Dianne was a quiet, gentle woman of faith and a member of the Church of God, and Worldwide Association. She was a loving, devoted person who cherished her family.
She is survived by her children, Jennifer and her husband Eric Schindeldecker of Thorp, Wisconsin, and Rion and his wife Hannah, and three grandsons, Rowan Paul McClelland, Liam John McClelland, and Rory Daniel McClelland of Athens, Georgia. She is also survived by her sisters Donna (Pat) Quintana of Commerce, Georgia; Debbie (Jerry) Garrison of Canton, Georgia; Darla O’Neill of Hartwell, Georgia; and Deanna (John) Stephenson of Hutchinson, Kansas, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband, parents, parents-in-law Alvin and Esther McClelland of Menomonie, brothers-in-law Donald O’Neill and Lynn Anderson, niece Kristi Quintana Maxwell, and dearest friend, Janet Patterson.
A private memorial service is planned for a later date.
