John Charles McClure, November 18, 1975, to October 19, 2011, was a resident of Kansas City, Mo.

John was raised in Tescott and graduated from Tescott High School in 1994. He served in the United States Navy from 1994 to 1998, on the USS Independence. Following his naval service, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. John was the owner and executive chef of Starker's Restaurant on the Plaza in Kansas City.

Food was his passion, and it earned him two distinguished honors in the culinary world; the Wine Spectator Grand Award for one of the greatest wine lists in the world, and he was recognized by The James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Contribution to the Foundation in July 2009.

John was a member of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Foundation and was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was the director of the Cliff Bath Memorial Scholarship Fund and participated in numerous charitable events (too many to mention) each year.

John was preceded in death by his grandfathers, L.M. "Mitch" McClure and Floyd Chapman. He leaves his parents, Gilbert and Marilyn McClure, Kansas City, Kan.; brother, Rob (Jennifer) McClure, of Tescott; sister, Angela (Paul) Kolenda, of Kansas City, Kan.; his grandmothers, Cleo McClure, of Tescott, and Ruth Chapman, of Clay Center; three nephews, Zachery, Zane and Weston McClure; two nieces, Olivia and Lucy Kolenda; and one great-nephew, Mason McClure. John will forever be remembered by countless friends and family who were blessed to know him.

John touched the lives of many people with his larger-than-life personality and generosity.

Memorial services will be at 10:30 AM Saturday at the Tescott High School Gymnasium. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Cliff Bath Memorial Scholarship Fund, in care of Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, 7235 Antioch, Shawnee Mission 66204 or the charity of the donor's choice.