(April 26, 1944

– July 3, 2017)

Wade Douglas McLendon, Sr, age 73 of Troy, Alabama, gained his angel wings on July 3, 2017, after a couragous battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 6, 2017, at 2 pm at the sanctuary of Park Memorial United Methodist Church with the Reverends Danny Arnold, Brian McLendon, and Mac Weaver officiating. Mr. McLendon will lie in state one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Green Hills Memorial Cemetery, with Dillard Funeral Home officiating.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, July 5, 2017, from 5 pm to 7 pm at Dillard Funeral Home in Troy.

Mr. McLendon was preceded in death by his parents, ZB and Minnie Lee Harris McLendon of Troy, brothers Hoyt McLendon (Martha), James Earl McLendon (Mary), and brother-in-law Paul Brown. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Helen Weaver McLendon; son and daughter-in-law, Wade Douglas McLendon, Jr. and Christine Balmer McLendon, and their children, Wade Douglas McLendon, III, Brandon Scott McLendon, Alexandria Caitlin McLendon, and Jennifer Brooke McLendon; daughter and son-in-law, Tammy McLendon Brooks and Jody C. Brooks, and their children, Jacob Peter Brooks and Jonah Andrew Brooks. He is also survived by a sister, Foye Jean Brown, and brothers, Bill McLendon, John D. McLendon (Peggy), and Rickey E. McLendon (Sue).

Mr. McLendon was born in Troy, Alabama, on April 26, 1944, and married his high school sweetheart, Helen Weaver, on June 2, 1964. He graduated from Charles Henderson High School in 1962, where he lettered in baseball and basketball and was voted Most Athletic by his classmates. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Troy State University, and later, received his Masters in Quality Contol from Kennedy Western. His career began at the State Highway Department in Montgomery, Alabama, where he reached the position of Chief Chemist. In 1977, he began a 40-year career at Sanders Lead and KW Plastics as Quality Manager. During his career, he designed and built the laboratories. He developed a quality control system that helped Sanders Lead become one of the most competitive secondary lead smelters in the industry. He designed two waste water treatment facilities. He helped KW Plastics become the first plastic recycler to be accepted by the automotive industry. He also assisted in the development of an all-plastic paint container.

Some of his favorite things were watching his grandchildren compete in sports and dance, his saltwater aquarium, Alabama softball and football, and video taping the church services at Park Memorial.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Park Memorial United Methodist Church and the Alabama Baptist Children’s Home.