Obituary of Cathleen Elaine McClellan

Cathleen "Cathy" Elaine McClellan, 70, of Indianapolis, Indiana, passed away on May 21st, 2023. 

Cathleen was born on June 28th, 1952 to Clarence "Clay"; and Martha Heathco in Indianapolis, Indiana. After she graduated from Ben Davis High School in 1970, she met her husband, Mark, on a blind date arranged by their mothers. They married in 1978 and went onto to have two children, Luke and Jamie.

She worked as a Clinical Laboratory Technologist in Hematology at Wishard Memorial Hospital from 1975 until the birth of her daughter in 1982.

In 1999, she started substitute teaching, mainly at Speedway Elementary, where she was known to local students as "the dinolady."

When her children started university, she, too, returned to college to complete her degree. She received her Bachelor of General Studies from IUPUI in 2002. A life-long learner, she continued to take courses in Geology and Paleontology at IUPUI through 2006.

She volunteered over 2,200 hours at the Paleo Prep Lab in Dinosphere at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. She was a former member of the Society of Vertebrae Paleontology and participated in dinosaur digs in South Dakota, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.

Her passions included quilting, genealogy, geology, paleontology, and building Legos with her grandchildren.

Cathleen was predeceased by her parents Clarence "Clay" and Martha Heathco. She is survived by her brother, Craig, her husband, Mark, her two children, Luke and Jamie, and her four grandchildren, Adron, Lily, Martha, and Ruth.