Joyce E. McLean and Alan B. McLean

Alan B. McLean, a native of Saint John, NB, overcame many challenges in his childhood to become a caring, generous and successful community member. Alan McLean’s father, Sea Captain Bart McLean, died when Alan was two years old. His mother had to raise five children on her own. Alan remembered that there were no books, no bicycles, and everyone’s energy had to go into making ends meet. He learned early in life that we all have to look after each other. A graduate of St. Vincent’s, Alan McLean quietly accomplished exactly that in the community ever since.

He fostered four boys from the New Brunswick Protestant Orphanage who attest to his kindness, as he supported them through their education, training and subsequent careers.

Alan Bartlett McLean

1921-2004

Alan and Joyce were married in August 1976. They enjoyed life both in Saint John and at their cottage at Grand Lake. Joyce, a graduate of Minto Newcastle Consolidated School, trained as a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital and has many fond memories of her experiences. Her career was primarily in private duty nursing. She proudly notes that at one time there were twenty-one extended family members involved in the nursing profession.

A.B. McLean & Co. Ltd ., a well known local company specializing in power tools, operated for many years. Its success and Mr. McLean’s early experiences enabled the McLeans to plan carefully for their future as well as to make many gifts to organizations in our community that needed support.

Alan “Al” Bartlett McLean, husband of Joyce E. (Myles) McLean, passed away on Monday, November 15, 2004 at his residence in Saint John, NB. He was the son of the late Charles Bartlett and Annie Ethel (Granville) McLean. An astute businessman, he was the President of A.B. McLean & Co. Ltd. and Merrill McLean Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec and Ontario. Al was an avid tennis player, enjoyed singing, boating and his summer home at The Range, Cumberland Bay on Grand Lake, NB. Surviving are his wife, Joyce; four foster sons, several cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife, Amy (Evans) McLean; two brothers, Frank and Maynard and one sister, Marian.

The McLeans generously supported many charitable causes during Mr. McLean’s lifetime. He made a number of significant bequests to the healthcare, social service and education fields, as well as to the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, which will make a real difference to many worthwhile charities in Greater Saint John.

Joyce E. McLean has named a new fund, entrusted to the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, to be known as the Alan B. and Joyce E. McLean Fund. It will serve as an encouragement to others to follow the generous example set by Joyce and Alan McLean.