William R. McClain

William R. “Bill” McClain, age 85, of Eaton and formerly of Gratis passed away on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at Sycamore Hospital.  He was born September 1, 1937 in Dayton to the late Clarence and Inez McClain.  Bill retired in 1997 from General Motors.  He enjoyed playing country and bluegrass music; and it was often said “he could play anything with strings”.  In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife Helen (Creech) McClain; daughter Becky Pruett; daughter Sherry Baker; infant grandson William Laurence Cox; sister Elva Forman; and brother Cecil McClain.  He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Janet Crowell McClain of Eaton; son Douglas (Sharon) McClain of Gratis; son Steve (Amy) Michael of Camden; son Scott (Theresa) Michael of Missouri; daughter Cynthia (Randy) Gross of Franklin; grandchildren: Julie (Simon) Ong of Dublin, Ireland, Gwen (Dan) McHanin of Troy, Braden (Liz) McClain of Morrow, Blake McClain of Franklin; Jacob Gross of Franklin; great granddaughter Haley McClain; a large blended family of grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, nieces and nephews; and many special friends.  Visitation will be held on Monday, February 13, 2023 from 1:00 pm until time of funeral service at 2 pm at Gard Funeral Home (formerly Lindloff-Zimmerman), 113 Ada Doty Street, Gratis, OH with Pastor Doug Surber officiating.  Burial will follow at Fairmound Cemetery in West Elkton.  Online condolences and other remembrances may be sent to www.gardfuneralhome.com