Obituary of Graham Charles McLean

With broken hearts and shattered dreams, the family of Graham “Cheeser” McLean announce his passing on October 16th with his loving family by his side at the age of 59 after a brief battle with cancer.

Beloved husband and best friend of Karen (nee VanRooijen) for 26 years. Lovingly adored by his daughters Shauna (Jacob Farquharson) and Jenna. 

Graham will be welcomed into the open arms of his parents that predeceased him: Ron McLean (2010), Marjorie (Mills, 1972) and Ann (Fletcher, 2015).

Graham will be deeply missed by his siblings Murray McLean (Sara Manahan), Nancy (Robert) Woods, Peggy (Kevin) White, Wendy (Rob) Windis and Launie (Brenda) Fletcher. Dear son-in-law of the late Tony (1984) and Agnes VanRooijen and brother-in-law of Eleanor (Roland Faber), Archie and John VanRooijen. He will be lovingly remembered by his many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. 

Graham was an outgoing and friendly guy. Whenever he met someone new he always wanted to know where they were from, who they were related to and if somehow he had a connection to them. He was so proud of his beautiful girls, always talking about what they were up to in school, sports, jobs, and life. 

Graham was born a farmer and throughout his life he was happiest while working on the farm. His biggest passion was his Angus cows. He was absolutely giddy while watching the baby calves grow, each with their own unique personalities. It was his dream to move back to the farm and continue raising quality angus cattle. 

His love of cattle began at an early age when Graham would travel with his Dad and his brother to the country fairs every weekend from the end of July through to the Royal Winter Fair in November. Showing cattle was hard work but he loved to compete. He may have enjoyed the social time after the shows even more!  As President of the Canadian Angus Association, he travelled across the country sharing his passion, learning from other Angus breeders and making so many friends along the way. 

Graham graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in Animal Science in 1988. He began his career as a feed salesman with Camlachie Grain and Feed selling Purina feeds and eventually he became a part owner of the business. More recently he was a dedicated and hard-working Crop Sales Specialist with Agris Coop in Glencoe for the past 15 years. His expertise and advice were appreciated by so many farmers in the area. He was a well respected and trusted advisor who took the time to listen and understand his customer’s needs. Graham was always up for a laugh and a chat with his many customers about the latest sports scores, cattle sales and the happenings in the neighbourhood. 

An avid sports enthusiast, Graham loved to cheer on the boys in blue: the Leafs, the Jays and the Cowboys always hoping that this would be the year his team would bring home the championship. He was a talented athlete in his youth excelling both as a goalie and a catcher winning many championships and awards. Graham could still often be seen in the net making a spectacular, old school, stacked pad save! He was still playing hockey one week before becoming ill. 

Graham was very committed to his community and gave freely of his time volunteering for numerous organizations over the years including:

Watford Silver Stick Director

Watford Optimists past president

Watford Optimist Housing Board

South Western, Ontario and Canadian Angus Associations past president

Minor hockey and softball coach

Lambton County 4H leader and past president and

Melbourne Fair Board past president 

Graham touched the lives of so many people. While his time on earth was cut way too short, he was an amazing man who lived a full life and will forever be terribly missed by all who knew him. 

The family would like to thank their friends, co-workers, neighbours and community for the tremendous outpouring of care and support during the past 6 weeks. We would also like to recognize his caregivers at the Strathroy Hospital and the London Health Sciences Centre Oncology Unit and Critical Care Trauma Centre for their compassion. 

Fly high Graham and remember to shut that 5 hole!

In lieu of flowers, friends and family are respectfully asked to consider a donation to:

Canadian Angus Foundation (with funds earmarked for Junior Angus programs) https://www.cdnangus.ca/foundation/

or

Camp Trillium (now known as Campfire Circle). https://campfirecircle.org/

A Celebration of Life will take place on Sunday, October 27^th, 2024 from 1:00-5:00 at the Alvinston Community Centre, with words of remembrance at 3:00pm. Online condolences and donations may be made at www.watfordfuneralhome.com