ORANGE BEACH — With a heart for community and serving others, Pat McClellan, part-owner of Flora-Bama, touched many lives and helped change the landscape of Alabama and Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The coastal legend passed away on Wednesday in his sleep. Friends say he will not be forgotten.
“God made a beautiful human being in Pat McClellan,” said co-owner John McInnis. “Pat was a very special person.”
The Flora-Bama Liquor Store was a much different place when McClellan joined forces with then-owner Joe Gilchrist in 1984. He had already spent four years aboard the USS Lexington as Public Affairs and Special Services Officer and had already transformed Pensacola’s Mardi Gras scene by initiating its first Mardi Gras street party.
It was McClellan who took the store to new heights by adding tents and eventually bringing in the Bama Dome area. He created fun and crazy events, such as Mullet Toss and the Polar Bear Dip.
McInnis said McClellan and Gilchrist changed the trajectory of his life when he asked him and Cameron Price to come on board.
“It definitely changed my life and my family’s life, in a good way,” McInnis said. “Pat and Joe built a place out of loving other people and loving their neighbors, just like we are commanded in the Bible to do. That’s all they did was love other people and ask for the same respect in return. The two of them grew a phenomenon that we know as the Flora-Bama today. They have taught that to us and all the employees and customers from every state and every country in the world.”
In life, the Navy veteran was a tall, strong, loving man and was known to be the life of the party. Although his physical presence will no longer be felt at the Flora-Bama, friends say his spirit will remain.
“He was a big teddy bear,” said McInnis. ”He was a huge beast of a man, but he was not intimidating. He was very, very loving and very kind. I’ve never, in 30 years of knowing him, seen him one time get into an argument with anybody. He just loved everybody he came in contact with and he was always the peacemaker.”
McClellan continued to participate in events and treated guests like family until his health no longer allowed. It was his spirit and love for life that made Flora-Bama what it is today. It’s a special place where people from all walks of life can come together and enjoy great music and good times.
“Some people own a business. Pat McClellan built a legend,” Flora-Bama said in a statement. “If you've ever thrown a mullet, toasted with a Bushwacker, danced barefoot to a band you didn't know you'd love, laughed with a stranger who became a friend, or watched the sun disappear over Perdido Key... you've experienced a little piece of Pat's heart.”
“If there's a party going on in heaven, Pat McClellan is the head of the party,” McInnis added. “He will create new events there. I promise you that.”
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