The Twin Lakes Area is mourning the loss of a pillar of the local business community. Hugh McClain died Monday at Baxter Regional Medical Center at the age of 85.
McClain was known for operating two area businesses. He was a 1952 graduate of Marshall High School, and after serving in the United States Army and working for a national feed company in Missouri and Iowa, he returned to Arkansas in 1969 and started McClain Farms. The business became the largest independent turkey producer in the state for the next 40 years. McClain also operated McClain Forest Products, LLC, which has grown into several locations in Arkansas and Missouri.
McClain is a past president of the National Turkey Federation, and during that time, his mother and son joined him in presenting the national Thanksgiving turkey to President Ronald Reagan in a ceremony at the White House in 1981. He has also been a board member of the Arkansas Poultry Federation and the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission. McClain was inducted in the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2010.
McClain was also instrumental in starting TrustBanc in 1997. TrustBanc was later named Liberty Bank of Arkansas and is currently known as Centennial Bank. In addition, he was influential in the development of McClain Hall at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home.
McClain was also a longtime supporter of the Bombers and was part of the Class of 2018 inducted in to the MHHS Athletic Hall of Honor in October. He was influential in the development of Mountain Home’s on-campus baseball and softball complex. McClain Park has hosted Bomber baseball, Lady Bomber softball, state tournaments for Classes 1A and 2A and the Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old World Series in 2017 and 2018.
Funeral services for Hugh McClain will be Friday morning at 11:00 at the Caney Church of Christ. Visitation will be Thursday from noon to 8:00 at Roller Funeral Home with the family receiving friends beginning at 6:00. Interment will be in Caney Cemetery.
McClain is survived locally by his son, Kirk McClain; three grandsons, Cain, Gage and Ryder McClain; and their mother, Shawna McClain; all of Mountain Home.
Memorials may be made to the Caney Cemetery Fund or Baxter Regional Medical Center.
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