Obituary

Colin David McLean, age 77, of Ferndale WA passed away April 26th, 2016. Colin was born in Calgary Alberta, March 21, 1939 to John & Christina McLean who immigrated from Scotland.

Colin graduated from Cresent Heights High School and received his diploma from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He was always athletic and particularly excelled in basketball as a young man and then took up a passion for squash.

He married Sharon Forster on September 5th, 1959 in Calgary Alberta where they made their home. He spent much of his early life in construction where his experiences in the 60’s included project management of the construction of a shopping mall in Red Deer, Alberta. He also managed a sales staff for the leasing of modular buildings for offshore drilling platforms and Artic camps for the Trans Alaska pipeline. During the 70’s Colin was a partner and Vice President in a company that sold road construction equipment.

After the untimely death of his wife Sharon in 1989, Colin moved to the Pacific Northwest where he managed special projects in the modular building industry which included the Dept. of Correction facilities, Federal Court buildings and commercial banks.

In 1990, Colin purchased H & H Outdoor Sports which he operated for 11 years. H & H allowed him to forge many new friendships and share many fun filled fishing experiences with his grandchildren. After selling H & H in 2001, Colin formed two companies. Modular Building Sales which constructed camps in Fairbanks, AK for Army officers returning from Afghanistan and McLean Construction which did remodel work mainly in the Sudden Valley area where he resided with his second wife, Leigh whom he married on November 11, 2005.

Colin was an enthusiastic reader and took in everything from world history, to politics, to the stock market. He was always up on current events and loved discussing what he’d read or seen. He was a warm hearted man with a quick wit. He was a great storyteller and his grandchildren were often captivated by his tales. Colin was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He always maintained a close relationship with his children and grandchildren and loved nothing more than hearing the laughter of family and friends.

Colin is survived by his wife Leigh; stepson Brooke Ihde; mother & father in-law, Pat & Jack Blocker, brothers in-law, Tom (Nancy) Blocker and Jon (Nancy) Blocker. Daughters Wendy (Mike) Rusheleau, Sherry (Rick) Burgess; son Ken (Todd) McLean; brother Doug (Marilynn) McLean; brother in law Eric Forster; sisters in law, Arlene Burrows and Gail Burton grandchildren: Katie, Georgia & Molly Burgess and Haley & Jared Rusheleau, along with many nieces and nephews. Colin’s first wife Sharon and brother in law Maurice Burrows proceeded him in death.