Anthony Bruce McClendon ’74

Anthony Bruce McClendon ’74 died on March 7 in Columbus, Indiana. Tony came to Hanover from Atlanta, where he had been an outstanding student, athlete, and marching band drum major. At Dartmouth Tony majored in government and participated in the Interdormitory Council, WDCR, the Afro-American Society, and athletics. Tony earned an M.B.A. at the University of Memphis, Tennessee. Tony’s passion was coaching and positively impacting the lives of young men and women. He coached football and track for 18 years at Central Middle School in Columbus and coached for a short time at Columbus East High School. Tony was dedicated to social justice and closing racial divides. He was a human rights commissioner and served as the director of multicultural diversity for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Tony was ordained in the Baptist denomination and served in many ministerial roles during his life, including deacon, trustee, and Sunday school superintendent. He was active in the Kairos Prison Ministry and New Day Residents Encounter Christ, an evangelistic retreat for inmates of Indiana jails. For seven years Tony was associate pastor of Columbus Faith Ministries, a nondenominational church, until he became pastor from 2015 to 2018. Most recently he began a virtual ministry to reach people with little opportunity to visit a physical church. Tony is survived by his wife, Patricia “Pat” ’76; daughter Samantha and her husband, Quincy; daughter Alexandria and her husband, Shawn; three grandchildren; mother Rosia; and sister Carol.