Greenfield Loses Long Time Pillar of the Community

If you’ve lived in Dade County Mo at any point in your life you’ve heard of, or had the privilege of knowing Cletis McConnell. Whether you visited the arcade or pool hall he ran, was the photographer that took your family photos, was your bus driver at the school or the local newspaper photographer chasing you down at events to take your photos for the paper. Cletis was a lifelong resident of Dade County. He worked for The Advertiser and The Vedette newspapers for over 50 years combined, retiring from The Vedette in 2018. During the same time, he worked for the Greenfield School District for 44 years driving local kids to and from school and school activities. Many kids might recall ice cream days when Cletis would treat all the kids on his bus to ice cream at Reds after school. Cletis was a sweet, loving, kindhearted man that always had the biggest smile on his face. Cletis invested his heart and soul into everything he did in the Dade County communities earning him the Lifetime Achievement Award by Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce in February of 2019.

Cletis married the love of his life, Janice, on September 26, 1953. They would’ve celebrated their 70th anniversary just 3 days after his passing.

Cletis’s memory will live on in the Dade County and surrounding communities for many years to come.

Article submitted by Marlene DeClue & Krista Guy