5 RAPS SHEET n MARCH 2023 DAVID WARREN MCCLURE, who served Portland State as a professor of chemistry for more than 35 years, died January 14 at the age of 86. Professor McClure was born September 12, 1936, in Yakima, Washington, to William Thompson McClure and Freda Margaret Scott McClure. The family moved to Alaska when Professor McClure was a young boy and settled in Ketchikan. During his high school years he worked in the U.S. Fisheries Products Laboratory, where he developed a passion for science, an experience he considered life changing. After graduation from Ketchikan High School in 1954, Professor McClure enrolled at Washington State University and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1958. He then entered the University of Washington to pursue a doctorate in physical chemistry and received a Ph.D. in 1963. It was during his graduate studies that Professor McClure took a mountain climbing course from the mountaineer Pete Schoening, and he was soon climbing peaks throughout the Northern Cascades. Upon completing his doctorate, Professor McClure went to England for postdoctoral training at Cambridge University. He returned to the United States in 1965 to take a research position with Shell Development Company in Emeryville, California. But after only a year with Shell, he was eager to return to the Pacific Northwest and joined the Portland State faculty in 1966. Professor McClure taught physical chemistry, but also developed courses in statistical mechanics and a popular summer course on the chemistry of winemaking and brewing. He retired from Portland State in 2002, although he continued to teach courses for several more years. In 1982 Professor McClure married Cheryl Maslen, and the couple spent much of their free time rock, ice, and alpine climbing, as well as skiing, hiking, backpacking, and river rafting. They also attended opera and theater in Portland, Seattle, and New York, often with friends and family, including Professor McClure’s two children, James and Amanda. He was also an avid squash player, a game he learned while living in England. He competed regularly on the West Coast squash circuit and mentored younger players. In retirement Professor McClure turned many of his passions into volunteer activities. He served as a docent at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum and volunteered in the emergency room and in the Acute Care for Elders program In memoriam: David W. McClure, 1936-2023 at Meridian Park Hospital. He was also a light walker for Portland Opera, a house manager for Portland State University Opera, a Humane Hero with the Oregon Humane Society, and a rescue climber and a board of directors member for Portland Mountain Rescue. Professor McClure participated in several search and rescue operations on Mt. Hood and the surrounding area. During the tragic 1986 Mt. Hood climbing accident that took the lives of seven high school students and two adults, he served as Base Operations leader. Professor McClure’s efforts during the rescue were chronicled in Code 1244: The 1986 Mount Hood Tragedy by Ric Conrad. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl; son James McClure (Carmen); daughter Amanda Bingham (Warren); four grandchildren; three sisters; and numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of life is scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 24 in Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park Avenue, Portland. Remembrances may be sent to the Oregon Humane Society, the Portland State University Opera Program, or a charity of your choice. An online guest book is available at www.oregonlive.com/obits.
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