George Harold McClendon born November 10, 1933 to Earl and Lela McClendon, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, passed peacefully on April 5, 2025 attended by his wife Carol and daughters, Sarah and Jennifer.

He grew up working with his father in the family dairy until he left home to attend the Benedictine St.

Gregory’s Academy in Shawnee OK, with the motto “Builder of Men.” After graduation and a year of college and Oklahoma football, he returned to the monastery as a monk. He was ordained a priest in 1959. During the 1970’s, he and other monks became “relevant,” going out to work beyond the monastery.

George opened a drop in center in Shawnee for teens needing support for drug addiction. He studied counseling and psychotherapy, moved to Watsonville California to join the Western Institute of Group and Family Therapy headed by Robert Goulding. As a therapist, he practiced in Aptos, Soquel, Pacific Grove, and Chico, and also led workshops internationally.

He married Carol in 1978 and a year later they were blessed with twin daughters. George was both an outdoorsman and an intellectual. With the encouragement of his coach Jerry Lynch, he entered the Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf Race. Having successfully finished, he reached for a greater challenge and completed his first marathon, the Silverado Trail, then ran seven more, including the Big Sur Marathon. His last race was a family experience with his daughters joining him for the California International marathon; their motto “Dom spiro spero” (while I breathe, I hope) George was a popular Chico State OLLI presenter, guiding participants in meditation and spirituality, often using his poetic observations as prompts. He published his memoir Earthy Spirituality and later a book of poetry She Asked Who I Was Really. He maintained his physical health becoming a walker rather a runner, often visiting Bidwell Park and marveling at the majestic trees.

He is survived by his wife Carol, daughters Sarah and Jennifer, grandchildren Alexa, Everest, Hazel, Violet, and his little brother Robert McClendon of Rogers, Arkansas. Predeceased were his parents and sister Barbara Curry of Salisaw, Oklahoma.

A celebration of life will held in Bidwell Park on June 7, RSVP to carolvmcc@yahoo.com. One of his favorite quotes was from Rumi, “Out there.... Between right doing and wrong doing, there is a field....I’ll meet you there."