John McLean
John Anglin Scarlett McLean passed away at age 94, on October 31 , 2024 at 1:10 pm. Beloved husband of the late Margaret McLean. He will be dearly missed by his sister Gay, daughters Gail, Cindy (Martin), Sharon (John), Brenda (Steve-deceased), and Lisa (David) and all his grandchildren; Lyndsay, Tova, Amanda, Patrick, Rachel, Marissa, Abby, Sarah, Christopher and Michael, great grandchildren, niece and nephews and his extended family and dear friends.
John was born February 1, 1930 in Montreal and moved to Brockville Ontario soon after. His father was an accountant and his mother was an excellent painter. All the daughters have at least one of her paintings in their homes. John told great stories of swimming across the St Lawrence River with his buddies, which was against the law.
His family later moved to Toronto in 1942. John attended Forest Hill Village School. There he played football, hockey and baseball and was known for running the 400 metre in track events at the provincial level.
John started his Ontario Hydro career in Huntsville as a linesman. Then he moved with his own family, with children Gail and Cindy, to Woodbridge.
He prided his work with Hydro and accomplished many feats while working. He was also involved with the municipal government and was the Reeve of Woodbridge in 1970. However, the deceit he witnessed in politics lead him to resign. John then focused more on his Hydro career who ended up paying for his business degree from the University of Toronto.
In 1970 he married Margaret Brooks (nee Rotz). Then in 1974 with her three daughters; Sharon, Brenda and Lisa, they moved to Matheson, Ontario in order to further his career. He became the Area Manager for Hydro there. While living in the North, John and Marg enjoyed curling, playing bridge , cross-country skiing and even bought a cottage on Monroe lake.
They also became quite involved with the Anglican Church. He became a lay reader and through the church relationships and hydro, John spent a lot of time up in James Bay in a Cree community helping them organize their electrical needs. While living in James Bay he learned to converse in Cree and would learn many of their beloved traditions.
In 1979, John moved his family to Huntsville (the place where his career began) to finish out his career as an Area Manager. In Huntsville, John was personally involved with the Anglican Church, helped form the Huntsville Association for the Performing Arts, continued to play bridge and was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Huntsville and the Scottish Rite in Barrie. His family lived on the river in town, similar to their home in Matheson. This definitely allowed for pleasant times spent boating as well as waving to boats passing by. John loved to canoe with his grandchildren down the river to the bridge and back.
In 1994 John retired from all Hydro employment. He spent the next chapter of his life continuing with community service, his own property management, travelling with Margaret and babysitting his grandson Patrick.
He lived a very full and happy life.
Funeral Service for John Mclean will be on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 1:00pm at
Mitchell Funeral Home