There is now a Doug-shaped hole in the world and in our hearts.

On Friday, March 15th, Douglas Eugene McLarnan shuffled off this mortal coil into the great beyond. He was quite recently diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma and was spoiling for a fight, having just completed one chemotherapy treatment. In true Doug fashion, he took flowers into the treatment center to show his appreciation. Tragically, he contracted covid which developed into pneumonia; these complications proved too much for his body to endure. Though he passed in the sterile confines of the ICU at the James Cancer Hospital, his final moments were in the presence of family and close friends.

Born in Mount Vernon on October 6th, 1948, to James C. “Doc” McLarnan and Clara Belle (Thomas) McLarnan, he joined older sister, Marlene, and brother, Tom to create the family as we knew it. His name was inspired by Gen. Douglas MacArthur and playwright Eugene O’Neill- what a lot to put on a little kid! He was a jolly, fat baby who grew into a curious, creative, and active boy. He had fond, if somewhat faint, memories of the years the family lived on a small farm on the edge of Millwood (as he told it, his mom tried to make a farmer out of his dad—it did not take). The family moved back to Mount Vernon, into a home on Mansfield Ave which served as an enduring home base until Clara’s passing in 2004.

During his young years he was a paperboy and a Boy Scout. His energy, enthusiasm, and independent nature served him well in both. Doug’s stories were of an idyllic boyhood where he had the freedom to ramble about town, camp at the fairgrounds, explore the creeks, woods, and the mighty Kokosing River. In his words, “Boy Scouts and independence gave me an intro to and absolute love of the natural world and little fear or caution to explore.” Life lessons abounded- he would joke about learning about insurance claims when his tent burned and took his gear with it on a Boy Scout trip. Another of his colorful memories was learning to swim at Camp Kokosing by being shoved off a dock. Luckily, he figured it out and lived his life as a water lover, swimmer, wader, fisherman, and paddlesports enthusiast. And hot tubs- oh, how he loved a hot tub!

Doug was a manager for the MVHS Boys Basketball team, at one point serving as coach for a few minutes when the actual coach was removed from the game. He was not the best student, but didn’t let discouragement from his guidance counselor deter him from graduating with the class of 1967 and going to Ohio State University. After one year at OSU, he transferred to Kent State University to study geography and education. He later took great pleasure in showing up as a substitute teacher and greeting that same guidance counselor in the morning on his way to teach classes. Throughout his life he enjoyed it when folks underestimated him- and treated it as a chance to take them by surprise with his astute commentary and informed questions.

May 4, 1970, was a hugely impactful event for him. The shootings at Kent State, and the helplessness he felt while witnessing the chaos and carnage around him, inspired him to later become an EMT and volunteer firefighter. Doug was a student reporter at the Daily Kent Stater and helped cover this story. He returned to Kent State many times over the years to attend events recognizing the anniversary of what he saw as a shameful and tragic point in history.

Somehow, he utterly lucked out and on June 20th, 1971, married Wendy (Burgess). Before his passing they made it through nearly 53 years of marriage- no mean feat! Their life together was chock-full of family, friends, travels, and travails and defined by his utter devotion to her.

In 1972 he enlisted in the US Army, serving most of his time at Camp Ames in Daejeon, South Korea. Wendy accompanied him on this adventure, and they had many tales of volunteer work and camaraderie during this era. He relished the experience. Whether it was long rides in the back of a truck to get supplies or doing laundry in a bucket, he had his bride by his side while he served his country as a nuclear weapons maintenance specialist. In 1974 he was honorably discharged. In the past year or so, Doug found a Camp Ames group on social media and enjoyed reconnecting with old friends.

Doug’s work history was varied and vast. From intrepid paperboy, student reporter, service station attendant to summer worker at PPG, nuclear weapons inspector, railroad worker, Mount Vernon News correspondent, he held his longest tenure with the Knox County Department of Job and Family Services, starting at “the old children’s home” building on Coshocton Rd in 1974. The relationships and bonds he built with his colleagues during those years remain strong to this very day. Over the course of his time as a social worker for Children’s Services, he never became jaded or cynical and did his best to do right by the clients he was entrusted with and the staff he supervised.

Somehow, he also found the time to pick up seasonal winter work as a snow maker at Snow Trails and summer work at Mohican Wilderness Campground, and then to launch the Mohican Wilderness Outpost Canoe Livery for a number of summers. He delighted in meeting people from all over and guiding them through their initial twitchy strokes as they launched on to the Mohican River. Upon his first retirement, he promptly took a new job working for the Knox County Parks District and gleefully informed everyone that he was the lowest paid County employee. Working as one of the Operations Managers for the Parks District was truly an ideal way to keep him occupied- if you knew Doug, you know he loved to drive around, mess about, fix/build/break things, and shoot the breeze. He retired again in 2017, but stayed on as a stalwart volunteer, helping maintain Honey Run Highlands Park.

Despite his busy work life, Doug consistently gave back to the community he loved through his lifelong commitment to public service. He was a member of Jaycees and Kiwanis, a board member for the Ohio District Five Area Agency on Aging, part of the Knox County Regional Planning Commission, was a founding Commissioner of the Knox County Parks District, served as a member of the Knox County Extension Advisory board, was appointed to the Governor’s Waterways Safety Council, on the American Canoe Association Ohio advisory board, and was the ACA-Ohio representative for the Ohio Trails Partnership. In 1996 he had the unique opportunity to volunteer at the US Olympic Whitewater events held on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. He loved the cause of Paddle for Heroes, a non-profit helping veterans, first responders and their families heal through paddling, and relished his role as camp cook during the Mount Vernon to Marietta trip. He made sure participants were well fed and well looked after.

Doug was also a founding board member for the Kokosing Gap Trail, serving over 30 years. His efforts were also behind the founding of the Kokosing Scenic River Association, the group which led the way to the Kokosing River being added to the State Scenic River Program in 1997. Of his 25+ years as a volunteer firefighter and EMT for College Township, he noted he had “…saved and lost lives and property and can operate in chaos effectively and shown modest courage.” In addition to being an Advanced EMT, he was also on the Dive Team and completed training as a Swiftwater Rescue Technician.

Even elected office wasn’t safe from him. Doug was a Gambier Village Council Member, interim Mayor of Gambier, and spent over 20 years as a College Township Trustee.

Though he didn’t do the things he did for accolades, nonetheless, they came. The Mount Vernon Jaycees recognized him with the Spark Plug Award and as citizen of the year in 1995. He also received a VFW Citizen Award and in 1997, Rivers Unlimited honored him as River Advocate of the Year. The Village of Gambier named him Citizen of the Year in 1998, and in 2018 he was named Volunteer of the Year by Ariel Foundation Park. In an undated polaroid he is seen sitting under a handmade banner declaring “Doug McLarnan Appreciation Day”.

Throughout his life he was accompanied by a motley parade of canines. There was Blackie, the dog from whom he learned about sharing. Tiny kid Doug shared a popsicle with Blackie: a lick for Doug, a lick for Blackie…until Blackie broke the rules and ate the whole thing. Then there was Coke, the legendary Airedale who accompanied him on his paper route, on campouts and who protected him from his older brother (justice was served and Tom’s pant leg would never be the same). Then, the Labrador Retriever era: Bret, Bart, April, Dakota, Tucker, Joker. Bret mothered the litters he raised to finance Wendy’s nursing degree. We don’t dare forget the giant, dopey, and sweet-natured Bloodhound, Lucy. In a shocking twist, two of his last dogs, Rikki Bubbles and Kick (short for Sidekick) were of the small foo-foo variety. Luckily, they didn’t know this, and he treated them like the adventure dogs they were meant to be.

The man had itchy feet. He needed to be on the go, be planning his next day trip, train trip, camping trip, long trip, cruise ship trip, road trip, canoe trip- you get the gist. Blame his parents- Doc and Clara made it a point to travel as much as they could, dragging the kids all over the US. Doug made countless journeys across the entire country, hauling his kids, nephews, canoes, dogs, and numerous friends along for the ride. On one memorable trip he was taking his son, Andy, and nephew, Mike, out West and realized in Nebraska he’d forgotten to pack his clothes. He saw it as a chance to re-outfit himself at an Army surplus store and continue on their merry way. He also had an impressive free-dive into the clear depths of the Current River in Missouri to retrieve what looked like a case of beer- sadly, they were all empties. Doug was a firm believer in preventative medicine on canoe trips, dosing every crew with their morning “snake bite medicine”. Who knew a shot of Jagermeister could keep venomous reptiles at bay? Later in life he developed an affinity for the minivan as a travel and camping rig, ending his series of vehicles with the mighty “Vannah White”.

One of his (many) recent projects was his “Common Good” Project, where he interviewed people he met while traveling and asked them their thoughts on what would benefit the common good. He had an unwavering faith in the power of connection to bridge divides. Doug also completed two circumnavigations of Knox County on foot. In 1994 he undertook this expedition in the winter, with the purpose of promoting awareness of the need for youth mentorship and foster parents. In the spring and summer of 2023, he repeated this endeavor. This trek had two prongs. One was to honor the memories of Jim Buchwald and Bob Herald, two men whose commitment to the community and longevity as hikers he deeply respected. The other purpose was to draw attention to a cause much farther from Knox County. “Walk For Ukraine”, the official name for this ramble, was meant to raise funds to support frontline medical relief for the war in Ukraine.

He loved a bargain, he loved to horse trade and often had a couple of deals going on vehicles. Doug drove his kids to distraction by stopping at or threatening to stop at every roadside sale or auction he saw. He had a hard time resisting a box-lot.
Doug was a down-home Renaissance man, a builder, a wrecker, a voracious reader, and homespun philosopher. If you sat next to him at the bar at the Village Inn or Howard Hilton, or around a campfire, you were sure to be amused, bemused, or confused, but never bored. He was truly embedded in this community.

Doug is survived by his wife of nearly 53 years, Wendy, daughter Emilie McLarnan (Steve Farley), and son Andy McLarnan (Jennifer Kennedy), as well as grandkids, Victor and Eleanor Kennedy, and Quinn and Simon Farley. Doug is also survived by his sister, Marlene McKay. But wait! There’s more. He leaves his mother-in-law, Ann (Lanning) Burgess, and in-laws Greg (Denise) Burgess, Polly (Jeff) Bowers, Steve Burgess, and Debbie McLarnan. “Uncle Doug” is also dearly missed by a devoted flock of nieces and nephews. Doug is also survived by scores of friends, including but not limited to the hikers of the Sub-Alpine Hiking Club of Knox County, Incorpololated, the Kokosing River Kayakers, the Gambier Historical Society, and the Lower Kokosing River Pirate Guild Club Association. Doug collected friends like a squirrel collects nuts, but particular thanks and gratitude go to Jim Hodge and Tony Bull for their extraordinary friendship. Last but not least, he is survived by his co-dependent canine, Kick.

He was preceded in death by his parents, JC and Clara McLarnan, an infant brother, Phillip, brother Tom, father-in-law Jim Burgess, brother–in-law Jim McKay, and sister-in-law, Dona Burgess.

His passing is an absolute tragedy and mystery that will never be solved. There is no silver lining, there is no justice. True to form, Doug was traveling as recently as October (to rebuild a fence, build a deck, walk the kids to school, and move heavy crap at his daughter’s place in Idaho) and November (on a beloved annual trip to Anna Maria Island where he rode his e-bike, swam in the ocean, and thoroughly lived it up despite initial symptoms of his illness), and working up on the roof of “the Cha-lett” aka Fish Camp, in January. One of his final deals was to buy a golf cart for reasons not totally understood (Golf cart for sale, $2,000 firm, tight steering, good batteries).

Truly the best way to honor his memory is to get out on your nearest local trail be it bike trail, hiking trail, or water trail. Drag someone (human, canine or otherwise) with you and take in the beauty of the world. Build a campfire and welcome all with a cold beverage and a warm greeting. DougFest, a celebration of life, will occur in June, date pending.

Memorial Contributions can be made to some of his most cherished causes.
Frontline Medical Ukraine fund with the Columbus Foundation
www.columbusfoundation.org/the-giving-store
Knox County Parks District Parks Fund
www.knoxcountyparks.org/donations
Kokosing Gap Trail
www.kokosinggaptrail.org
Paddle For Heroes
www.paddleforheroesmidwest.org

Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Home – Lasater Chapel

Website: www.snyderfuneralhomes.com