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ALLAN DAVID MCLEAN
SEPT 13, 1943 – APR 2. 2024
We are heartbroken to announce the sudden yet peaceful passing of Big Al on Tuesday April 2, 2024. Surrounded by the love of his life, Lorna (Black), his daughters Alanna (Rob Rysdale), Kelli (Rich Cochrane), his grandchildren, Molly and Ben Cochrane and his beloved niece and nephew, Linda Toll and Kevin Nesbitt. Sadly missed by his sisters Joan Nesbitt (dec. Brad), Candy Brown (Dave), his brother Peter and sister in law Marion (dec. Ron). Al was predeceased by his parents Hedley and Hazel McLean, his brother, Ron McLean, in-laws Clarence and Jean Black, best friend Brad Nesbitt, son in law William Hockton and many, many more relatives and friends.
Clearly frustrated by the Blue Jays uneven start, Al just couldn’t bear to hang on for the rest of the season.
Grandpa Al absolutely adored his grandchildren, Molly, Ben, and Mathieu (Abruzzese), his grandpets Pearl, Betty, Lou and Nova and was thrilled to have the chance to see them well on their ways to a strong future as loving human beings (not the dogs, though, they just wanted him to feed them illegal food from the table at family dinners)
Born and raised in St Kitts, Al went from smoking his mother’s Kools at age 10 behind their shed on Alice St in Dogpatch, to serving in the Royal Canadian Navy direct to McKinnon’s (aka General Motors), meeting and marrying his beautiful Lorna, having 2 crazy daughters and retiring after 30 years of service in 1991.
An Iraqi-taxi driving, mafia book loving, 8 track tape listening, Labatt’s Blue drinking (Old Milwaukee when it was 5.99 a case in the 80’s), Blue Jay’s armchair “coaching”, ATV adventuring cat, Al was a Dude before it was cool to be one. Uncle AL also loved hanging with all of his nieces and nephews, participating in their lives and sharing his (very) long stories with them all, (whether they wanted to hear them or not).
Also, an elite athlete (just ask him), “McLooney” bounced from smashing balls over the deepest fences in baseball parks to arenas around the region, on the field and behind the boards as both a player and a coach. Known for his quiet, unassuming demeanor, Al gently coaxed his teams to be the best players and humans they possibly could be. (Ok, well, maybe not so “gently”). We all know that Al left it all out there on the field, the rink, and in life in general.
It’s fair to call Coach Al a pioneer in women’s sports in Niagara. He treasured his time teaching the young ladies of the Niagara Ringette and St Catharines Ladies Softball Associations about winning and losing; strength, belief in themselves and empowering them through teamwork and pushing their limits to launch them forward towards a life of being the fierce women they would all become.
Dad, you have made such a mark on us all and we are so blessed to have had you in our lives for so long. You sacrificed your dreams to make us the women we are and while we all wanted to hang onto you forever, it’s ok to let go.
So, heads up to the Big Guy. If you see a dude decked out in Walmart pajama pants, “indoor shoes” and a bright green Bison’s jacket, slipping into that big GT Boutique in the sky for his daily haul of smokes, Ding Dongs, and lottery tix, please let him win for once…..
Also, give him the biggest kiss and tell him that while we are glad we didn’t know, the way it all would end, the way it all would go, we might have missed the pain, but we would never have missed the Dance.
We invite everyone to celebrate this great man’s life on Sunday April 28th from 1-4 at Club LaSalle, 111 Arthur St., St. Catharines, ON L2M 1H8 (Sunset Beach). In lieu of flowers, we would be honoured if you could donate to Jumpstart at donate.jmpst.ca/DIYevent/ALLANMCLEAN, a program that helps kids overcome financial and accessibility barriers in sport and recreation. Big Al would be cool with that.
Tuesday April 2nd 2024
Passfield Mortuary Services Inc
Death notice for the town of: St. Catharines, Province: Ontario
death notice Allan David Al McLean Tuesday April 2nd 2024
obituaries notice Allan David Al McLean Tuesday April 2nd 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Allan David Al McLean Tuesday April 2nd 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
