Keith Earl McClain

Born: August 13, 1928 in Globe, Arizona

A genuine and highly decorated war hero, first-class fly-fisherman, avid hunter and overall good guy died on June 28, 2026 at the age of 97 in Powell, WY. Dad was the kind of guy who always showed up when you needed him. He was honest almost to a fault, hard-working and loved his family. He married Mary Ann Kriege, a perfect match, in 1970. They met in Da Nang, Viet Nam where Keith was serving his country flying A-1E Skyraiders (flying 144 combat missions) and Mary Ann was a China Beach surgical nurse and a US Navy commissioned lieutenant commander with the US Public Health Service. Keith had already served in Korea flying 100 combat missions in F-51 Mustangs and F-80 Shooting Stars and Vietnam was his second and last conflict. In between conflicts, Keith flew high speed photo reconnaissance missions in far off countries and finished his Air Force career working on the first spy satellite program for the Air Force. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Clusters amongst his numerous medals.

Keith brought 2 sons and a daughter (Matt, Stu & Susan by his first wife Margery Morgan) to his marriage to Mary Ann Kriege. Beginning in 1972, they had 3 more boys (Monte, Craig & Andrew) making it an even 6. After Keith finished serving in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a colonel after 22 years, he and Mary Ann headed west to his beloved Wyoming… Basin, Wyoming to be exact, where he started out teaching grade school math. Students of his still tell us stories of having him as a teacher! Keith was well known for his passion and his booming voice. He was the guy on the football sidelines cheering on his Basin Bobcats with his notorious war-whoops, loud enough to draw the ire of the opposing teams. After leaving teaching, he went to work as an engineer in the finals crew for the Wyoming Highway Department, now WYDOT. Keith fully retired in 1991 and ended up moving to a new home the two of them built in Luther, Montana living there for 25 years. Keeping up with the property up there became quite a challenge and at age 91 they decided they needed to be closer to family and while they loved the isolation that part of the world gave you it was determined that the best place to be was back in Wyoming. They sold the place and headed for Powell, Wyoming where they ended up moving across the street from their son Monte in 2020.

Keith and Mary Ann lived the kind of life that made his family proud. The two of them lived an amazing adventure that gives infinite inspiration. Keith was the kind of father every kid should have. He was loving, affectionate, fair and beyond generous yet wasn’t afraid to push us to succeed. We are all better people for having the privilege of calling him “dad”. He learned these great characteristics from his father and mother Earl and Leola (Bonebrake) McClain. These people made closeness to family their number one priority. They lived it and they were true.

Keith is survived by his wife Mary Ann and sons Matt, Stuart (Charlotte), Monte (Stacie), Craig (Sarina), Andrew and dads only daughter Susan. He also has a pile of grand kids: Curtis, Sebastian, Nicholas, Morgan (Mitch), Tara (Justin), Carter (Delia), Madeline, Erin, Kyle (Alexis), Sam, Jaci, Misty (Thomas) and Amanda (Berto), along with numerous wonderful great-grandchildren that he delighted in spoiling along with everyone else in his life.

So if you are throwing yellow-belly humpy flies on Pelican Creek in Yellowstone or if you find a pocket saw or portable transistor radio lying (aka lost) in the woods in Luther, Montana, then you are in his world. If you are traveling in the mountains above Jack Creek west of Meeteetse, WY stalking the wily wapiti you can take comfort in the knowledge that you are sharing space with the spirits of our dad and his best buddies, partners in crime and hunting – Andy Johnson and Reynolds Kost.