Lois Jean Howe McClure, a long-time Burlington resident and philanthropist who championed expanding opportunities for Vermonters, died Sunday at her home in Shelburne. She was 98.
“She was smart, she was courageous, she was generous and passionate about what she believed in,” said Joyce Judy, president of the Community College of Vermont.
McClure and her late husband J. Warren (Mac) McClure were philanthropists and founded The J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, which has awarded over $16 million to Vermont organizations since it was formed in 1995, according to the foundation.
“Her biggest hope was that she was making a better Vermont for all through her work, and that’s the community leadership and philanthropy that she and her husband led and shared for decades,” said Carolyn Weir, the foundation’s executive director.
McClure was born in Burlington on April 12, 1926, as the first of three daughters and the eldest cousin in a large extended family that had owned The Burlington Free Press since 1890.
Being the eldest of the family, she felt a sense of responsibility from an early age that she carried through her life in all sorts of ways, said Weir.
“She also did that in a way that really led with kindness and trust, and I experienced that firsthand in my role at the J Warren and Lois McClure Foundation,” she said.
Before marrying Warren McClure, she was previously wed to Merton Ricker, a fellow Burlington native who returned home after serving in World War II, according to her obituary that appeared in the Burlington Free Press. The couple had three daughters, but their first child, Jean, died in 1950 after contracting polio. The following year, their marriage ended in separation.
In 1954, she married Warren McClure, blending their families to include her two daughters and Warren’s two sons. The couple faced another heartbreaking loss when McClure’s nine-year-old daughter, Judy, died of kidney cancer in 1961 after a prolonged illness. Their grief inspired a deep commitment to community service, with McClure volunteering for the American Cancer Society and serving as a hospital trustee, according to the obituary.
The duo later founded the McClure foundation, guiding organizations across the state to broaden access to career and postsecondary education for all Vermonters. In 2001, McClure became president of the foundation and her work is now being continued by her daughter Barbara Benedict, according to Weir.
The projects of the foundation that McClure championed ranged from medical services, especially UVM Health Network’s McClure Miller Respite House, to educational services and included VTDigger.
McClure and her husband were also avid supporters of the Shelburne Museum, contributing to its development. Their efforts included funding the building of a new visitors center, the relocation of a round barn and the six-year restoration of the steamship Ticonderoga that finished in 1998, according to the Vermont Historical Society.
The single greatest recipient of grant funds is the Community College of Vermont, according to Weir.
One initiative is the Free Degree Promise, which covers the cost of earning an associate degree or credential for eligible students. The program spans up to five semesters and includes early college options, allowing students to complete their education at CCV without financial burden to themselves or their families.
“She has changed the lives and the trajectory of individuals and families in Vermont by making education available to them, and so she has helped CCV reach populations that were not being served by traditional higher education,” Judy said.
McClure was a recipient as well as donor. Together with her husband, she received honorary doctoral law degrees from the University of Vermont and UVM’s highest honor, the Ira Allen Award, in 1988. In 2013, McClure was named Vermonter of the Year by the Burlington Free Press for her work and effort for the state. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, a grantee of the couple’s foundation, also named two boats in their honor.
Correction: An earlier version of this story used an incorrect last name for Barbara Benedict and misstated how long the First Degree Promise program lasts.
