Obituary

Virgil Lester McClure, born Dec. 29, 1917, the son of Lester and Leto Miller McClure of Walton, died Thursday (July 8 2010).

Virgil was a resident of Schowalter Villa in Hesston.
He was a graduate of Walton High School in Walton. Virgil was a sheep industry leader, champion sheep shearer and a life-long farmer and community leader.

He served as president of the Mid-West Wool Growers Cooperative. He was president and a founding member of the Kansas Purebred Sheep Association and later the Kansas Purebred Sheep Committee. He also was president of the Kansas Sheep Association and served as a delegate to the American Sheep Industry Association. Locally, he was president of the Harvey County Fair Board, director of the Golden Plains school board and served on the Zimmerdale school board. He was a community leader for the Hesston Union Champions 4-H Club. Virgil was nationally recognized for producing and showing purebred Hampshire, Shropshire, and Southdown sheep. He judged numerous national, state and local sheep shows.