Frances “Fifi” Seibert McClellan, 97, of Kirklin, Indiana passed away July 4, 2024, after a lengthy physical decline, in the home where she resided with her daughter and son-in-law, Fran & Larry Paarlberg.  She was born on April 18, 1927, in Monroeville, Alabama, to Charles H. and Maude Elizabeth (Schnell) Seibert.  She married Jack Paul McClellan on April 9, 1950, and he preceded her in death on January 18, 1997.  Her second marriage was to Walter Godfrey on March 29, 2003, and he preceded her in death in July 31, 2011.

Fifi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Alabama College for Women in Montevallo, Alabama.  She was an elementary school teacher for 38 years, working mainly for Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida, where she was nominated for teacher of the year several times.  Fifi lived in Tallahassee, Florida, until coming to live with her daughter in Kirklin in 2015.  She was a member of the Alpha Delta Kappa Sorority for teachers.  She was a proud daughter of a Methodist minister and a charter member of John Wesley United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Florida, where she was very active. Over the years, she was a member of the choir, a Sunday school teacher, and a member of the Susannah Wesley Circle.  Upon moving to Indiana, she attended Saint Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Zionsville where she was active in the Women’s Bible Study and Book Study until her last year.  Fifi loved gardening, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family. As a young lady, she and her three sisters frequently sang and performed for church gatherings. Her first memory of performing was singing “I Love You Truly” when she was eight years old.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Fifi’s devoted caregivers: Dex, Patsy, Melissa and Serena.

Memorial donations may be made to the Indiana United Methodist Children’s Home, 515 W. Camp Street, Lebanon, IN 46052 or the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, 51 Main Street, Enterprise, FL 32725.

Visitation and Services

Services in Tallahassee will be held at a later date.  Goodwin Funeral Home, 200 S. Main St., Frankfort and Clinton County Crematory are honored to assist the McClellan family. 

Survived by:

She is survived by two daughters:  Sharon Ann (McClellan) Thomason (Sam Hayes) of Panama City, FL, and Fran (Larry) Paarlberg of Kirklin, IN; grandsons: Randolph Paul Thomason, Jr., of Panama City, FL; Andrew Maxton Paarlberg, of Indianapolis, IN. She is also survived by her niece and caregiver, Elizabeth Brown Thomasson, along with several other nieces and nephews and a host of family and friends. 

Preceded by:

 In addition to her parents and husbands, she was preceded in death by her three older sisters and their husbands, her baby brother, a niece, and a nephew.