Co-owner of Shamrock Foods Co., Frances Helen McClelland, dies ...

Co-owner of Shamrock Foods Co., Frances Helen McClelland, dies at 81 | Arizona Daily ...
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7/12/2005
Published: 07.07.2005
Co-owner of Shamrock Foods Co., Frances Helen
McClelland, dies at 81
By Tiana Velez
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Frances Helen McClelland, co-owner of Shamrock Foods Co. and its secretary-treasurer for almost 60 years,
died Wednesday at age 81.
McClelland was born Aug. 4, 1923, in Tucson - the first child of Irish immigrants, William T. and Winifred
McClelland.
In a story told often with pride by the family, the McClellands started Shamrock Dairy in Tucson in 1922 with
only 20 cows and a Model-T truck to deliver the 40 gallons of milk a day the dairy produced.
In 1946, two years after Frances McClelland graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in
accounting, she joined her parents at the company. Brother Norman came on board in 1949.
Together, the sibling pair transformed Shamrock from a small dairy into a major food distributor. They
oversaw its move to Phoenix in the mid-1950s, and in 1993 Forbes magazine named Shamrock Farms one of
the largest privately held businesses in the United States.
The cause of McClelland's death is yet to be determined. Norman McClelland remains chairman and CEO of
the company.
A statement prepared by the family described Frances McClelland as an avid world traveler, a devoted
Christian and a businesswoman known for her "integrity, humor, generosity and strong will."
Stricken with polio at a young age, McClelland never regained full use of her legs, but that never hindered her
global curiosity, which she nurtured through enthusiastic reading and numerous trips abroad.
One of her earliest travels was to Paris in the summer of 1962 - to the University of Paris Sorbonne, where
she studied French as part of an exchange sponsored by Temple University. Her most recent trip was to
Ireland in the fall of 2004, her family said.
As well-known as she was for her accomplishments in business, McClelland was an even greater presence in
the community.
Well into her 80s, she continued the philanthropic tradition established by her father. McClelland remained
actively involved in a number of charities and made significant financial contributions to local universities and
hospitals.
She served on the board of the local YWCA and held positions there as treasurer, finance chairwoman and
president. McClelland also served on the boards of the University of Arizona Foundation, the Tucson-Pima
Public Library, the UA College of Agriculture and the Arizona Senior Academy.
"Frances was really a major person in both the development of her company and the development of the
(local) community," said Ken Smith, former dean of the UA Eller College of Management.
Smith was dean in 1987 when the McClelland family donated $2.5 million toward the construction of a
building to house the Eller College - then known as the College of Business and Public Administration.
McClelland Hall, at 1130 E. Helen St., remains home to the college.

Co-owner of Shamrock Foods Co., Frances Helen McClelland, dies at 81 | Arizona Daily ...
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7/12/2005
"She was involved in so many things that were concerned with helping people," Smith said. "She was a very
caring person, a very warm person, someone you couldn't help but be attracted to, which helped her be
effective in working with people across the community."
McClelland is survived by her brother, Norman; niece and nephew, Kathe and W. Kent McClelland - who is
president of Shamrock Farms; and cousins Jeanie Parker Schuerman and James Parker.
Memorial services in Tucson will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd., at 11 a.m.
Tuesday.
● Contact reporter Tiana Velez at 434-4083 or tvelez@azstarnet.com.
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