Facebook
Bill McGlaun stands before a 17-foot tall angel he created to honor the nation’s fallen service personnel. The angel is located in Smithville, Texas.

McGlaun was best known for his bronze sculptures, which have been installed all around the world. His creations include the “Grady Spikes Memorial Tiger,” located at McGlaun’s alma mater, Conroe High School; “Mourning Doves,” a gift for Pope John Paul IV and said to be located inside the Vatican; a 17-foot tall angel at a memorial for the fallen service personnel from Smithville; and “Gates of Learning” at the Becky Gates Children’s Center on the Texas A&M University campus.

“Bill just wanted to make the world beautiful,” said Kingwood resident Dorothy McFerrin, who along with husband, Artie, commissioned McGlaun’s multiple sculptures at Texas A&M. “His legacy will survive because of his work.”

Tom Reber, interim vice president of student affairs for Texas A&M, worked closely with McGlaun during the “Gates of Learning” project.

“It’s an iconic piece of the Children’s Center. It’s kind of like it was always meant to be there,” Reber said. “Bill was a fun guy to talk to ... very knowledgeable on a lot of subjects. I am very sad to hear of his passing.”

The Gates of Learning statue was created while McGlaun lived in Cleveland. His studio was located in the old railroad depot on N. Manthey St., a building shared by McGlaun’s longtime friend Tommy Harris, owner of The Framer.

“He was such a talented guy. I have never known anyone so true. He was honest to the core,” said Harris.

It was in Cleveland where McGlaun became acquainted with fellow sculptor, Ronald Sweeten.

“We started out together in the 1970s. We were friends. Bill was a really good artist,” said Sweeten.

When asked if McGlaun had realized the level of success he had sought, Sweeten said, “I don’t think anyone gets to the point where they think they are ‘there.’ One hundred years down the road is when you’ll know. Unfortunately many artists don’t live to see their success.”

When it came to financial matters, McGlaun was not considered a success, but that doesn’t lessen his legacy, according to his former wife of 19 years and lifetime friend, Barbara Curry.

“He lived on poverty level. He was a soft, soft soul and a brilliant, creative mind,” said Curry. “He never felt that it was his right to make money for things he created because God had given him the ability to do it.”

In 2006, McGlaun’s Smithville home was destroyed by wildfire.

“He lost everything he owned in the wildfire. He had nothing left but he had started to rebuild,” she said.

The move to Smithville from Cleveland allowed McGlaun to spend his last years with the “loves of his life,” his two sons, William and Monty, and three grandchildren, Mason, Kaleb and Kenzie.

“It was a blessing that he got to spend quality time with them,” said Curry.

As she cleaned out the remains of his home on Jan. 23, Curry said she felt both sadness and amusement seeing the things he had kept.

“It’s been overwhelming. I am finding things he kept from 1969 and saying, ‘Dear God, Bill, why?’” said Curry with a laugh. “He is probably up in Heaven laughing at me because he used to say that even though we were not married that it would be me going through these things.”