Longtime barber, police dispatcher passes away

By Staff
Melissa Cason
A familiar face will be missing from the Russellville Police Department.
Long-time Russellville barber and police dispatcher Gary McCluskey passed away Tuesday after an extended illness.
McCluskey worked as a barber in Russellville for many years before joining the Russellville Police Department in July 2007.
In an interview for the 'At Your Service' series, McCluskey said he really enjoyed cutting hair for all of those years, but he also enjoyed working as a dispatcher because he could have his days off, which allowed him to continue to cut hair on a part-time basis. Working as a dispatcher was less demanding on his legs and back.
"I am grateful for this job," McCluskey said at the time.
"It's just what I needed."
At the time of his death, he worked under shift supervisors Lt. Mike Prince and Sgt. Jeremy Hall on the night shift.
"Just when you think it's going to be quiet, something happens," McCluskey said during his interview in 2008. "You never know what's going to happen."
McCluskey also worked under Capt. Shannon Oliver when Oliver was a patrol sergeant.
"I've known him since I was a little boy," Oliver said. "We not only lost a good dispatcher, we lost a good friend, and the community lost one fine man."
Police Chief Chris Hargett said McCluskey was popular in the department, and worked well with his officers on shift.
"Gary was an outgoing person," Hargett said. "He kept you laughing."
Hargett said he always called him 'super-duper dispatcher' because he was loved by his shift and he did a good job.
"He told me many times that working down here made him feel so good even when he became ill," Hargett said. "He was an asset to the city and the department and he will be greatly missed."
While McCluskey enjoyed serving the city and working with the public, he was also proud of his commitment to the Masonic Lodge.
McCluskey joined Russellville Masonic Lodge 371in 1988. He achieved Fellow Craft in February 1989, and was raised in March 1989. He transferred to Phil Campbell Lodge 880. He was a dual member of Lodge 880 and 371 for a period of time.
At the time of his death, he was a dual member of Phil Campbell Lodge 880 and Newburg Lodge 388.
McCluskey's Masonic achievements include: Member of Cahaba Shrine Club in 1994; past president of the Franklin County Shrine Club; charter member of the Lawrence County Shrine Club; and past master of the Russellville Masonic Lodge 371.
"He was a person who would help everybody," Bill Fuller, master of the Russellville Lodge 371, said. "He enjoyed Masonry, and the Lodge."
Fuller said he also enjoyed his job at the city the last few years.
Outside work and the Lodge, McCluskey enjoyed being outside hunting and riding around his property, located near the Dismals in Phil Campbell. McCluskey also enjoyed repairing antique vehicles.
Just days before his illness hospitalized him for the last time, McCluskey showed photos of his newly rebuilt 'hot rod' to friends at the department.
In the end, McCluckey will be remembered as a man who loved life, and enjoyed living it to it fullest.