‘Community hero,’ former Thurston County undersheriff Neil McClanahan dies at age 72

Neil McClanahan, the former undersheriff who served the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office for more than 30 years died on June 12 after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 72.

County Commissioner Gary Edwards worked with McClanahan when Edwards was Sheriff and McClanahan was his right-hand man. Edwards said McClanahan was his conduit to the community, and his counsel will be missed.

“Neil was a big part of the success of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office,” Edwards said.

McClanahan was hired by the Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 1, 1973, and he was appointed undersheriff under Edwards in 1986. He retired in 2007 after 34 years of service.

He also served on the Tumwater City Council. He was first elected in 2004 and served until 2019.

Edwards said McClanahan helped bring the Sheriff’s Office into the modern age with computers and cell phones in the 1990s. He also helped stand up a sex offender registration and notification system. Edwards said McClanahan’s system was picked up by countless other jurisdictions to use.

Edwards said the sex offender system was the biggest societal issue McClanahan helped the Sheriff’s Office navigate. But there were lots of other things he contributed to. McClanahan was directly involved in getting the Sheriff’s Office a helicopter, making response to calls safer and more efficient, for example, Edwards said.

Edwards said McClanahan’s long service in leadership helped keep things flowing smoothly.

“We had a great working relationship that spanned a lot of years,” Edwards said. “And the result was the community was better served because of the position that he held.”

Craig Chance, executive director of the Housing Authority of Thurston County, said McClanahan used to call himself the “crybaby sheriff.” Chance said he wore his emotions on his sleeve and cared highly about the needs of others in the community.

He said McClanahan was the most decorated law enforcement officer in the county when he retired as undersheriff. He also served on the boards of the HATC and Community Youth Services.

“If 10% of our population did as much as Neil, we wouldn’t have any problems in our community,” Chance said.

Chance said McClanahan was the kind of person who made changes quietly, away from photo ops. He shared a story of when the two worked together at the Housing Authority. Two dozen housing units were being opened across from a school in Tumwater, and five of the units were reserved for families coming out of homelessness.

The City of Tumwater secured funds for mattresses and other furnishings for the families. When the mattresses arrived, McClanahan was there unloading. A young boy whose family was moving into one of the units followed McClanahan inside and told him he’d never had a mattress before.

“That sort of thing always touched him. Between Neil and his wife, they did a lot of things for people, just kind of quiet,” Chance said. “So we’re going to miss Neil; he’s going to live in our hearts forever.”

Charles Shelan, former executive director of Community Youth Services, said he knew McClanahan like a brother.

Shelan said McClanahan was a great person to collaborate with. He said McClanahan understood law enforcement thoroughly, having gone through FBI training. But his knowledge of the socioeconomic issues within criminal justice and his efforts to mitigate those issues are what impressed Shelan.

Shelan said when McClanahan was undersheriff, he viewed many of the people who came into contact with law enforcement as just going through a bad time in their lives. He leaned into giving folks a chance to turn themselves around.

“Most importantly, he worked to prevent young people from becoming the bad guy and provided them with hope and opportunity,” Shelan said. “He was a huge advocate for kids.”

Shelan said McClanahan was very passionate about his work in human services, and his work made a lasting impact on the community.

“He’s left a wonderful legacy,” Shelan said. “I just hope our community will do something to honor him to make sure his legacy lives on.”