Slain Lutesville marshal honored with highway designation

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- On the night of Oct. 6, 1971, Lutesville marshal Clive S. McGee had handcuffed a young offender to a pole in front of Lutesville Motors, but before he could make the arrest, a car went flying by, so McGee uncuffed the young man, got in his car and chased down the speeding vehicle.

Within minutes he was dead.

Three men from Hammond, Ind. -- Ralph W. Chaney, William R. White and Larry D. Morse -- were in the car. One of them shot McGee, then 54, and killed him as he made that routine traffic stop. Hours earlier, the men had robbed Dr. John Myers, beat him and raped his 14-year-old granddaughter.

McGee had been city marshal for six months.

Friday morning, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster spoke at a ceremony at Marble Hill United Methodist Church in front of McGee's family and friends before the Missouri Department of Transportation erected memorial signs on Highway 34. The memorial highway runs from McGee's former Three-Way Restaurant, now the site of a McDonald's, to Glenallen, Mo.

"I was 8 years old when Clive Sherman McGee gave his life protecting the people of Missouri," Koster said. "At that age, I had not yet contemplated my own career in law enforcement, nor given much thought to the officers who kept our neighborhoods safe. I had the luxury of my innocence back then because brave men, most of whom I will never meet, were willing to put themselves between me and the monsters of the world. Brave men like Clive McGee."

Koster went on to say that law enforcement "is not a job, or even a profession, but the answer to a prayer."

Bill Simmons, McGee's nephew, said his uncle's dedication was a calling, one that went back several generations. McGee's grandfather, Samuel McGee, was one of the first local men to sign up for the Union Army during the Civil War and later became marshal of Lutesville.

"He grew up hearing the history," Simmons said.

Some may remember Clive McGee as a young man who with his buddies used to shoot out streetlights. Simmons said he remembers McGee as "Uncle Fibber."

State Rep. Shelley Keeney, whose husband is a Missouri state trooper, sponsored the legislation that made the memorial signs possible. She also spoke of the calling of law enforcement officers and people who feel safer knowing they are out there serving and protecting.

Also present were McGee's sister, Vonda Simmons, and several nieces and nephews.

Pertinent address:

Marble Hill, Mo.