J. Brian McLean

On Sunday, September 24th, 2023, J. Brian McLean left this earthly world at the age of 82 while being cared for by selfless medical experts at Saint Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York. He was surrounded by his two sons, Sean Thomas and Michael John, as well as his loving partner Linda Gugliemetti-Mack. He is mourned by his former wife and mother to his children Maryanne Cacciola-McLean, his brother James, and dozens of nieces, nephews, extended family, and lifelong friends.

Brian was well loved by many for his humor and intelligence. Born and raised in Jackson Heights, NY, he lived a long life that included singing in the St. Patrick’s Cathedral boys choir, serving the U.S. Army in Germany while the Berlin Wall was erected, cultivating lifelong friendships at the Shillelagh tavern in Astoria, owning Poor Boy’s Pub in Jersey City, and pioneering a career in the early era of electronic banking.

He purchased a home in Park Ridge, NJ with his wife Maryanne in 1978, and his sons were born in 1980 and 1983 where they were baptized and confirmed at the parish of Our Lady of Mercy. Brian enjoyed vacationing with his family in the Pocono Mountains where his sons learned skiing, rafting, and riding all-terrain vehicles. After being placed on permanent disability in the early 1990s, he volunteered at his sons’ school, and served the municipal government as president of the Board of Health and a convening member of the Juvenile Court Committee. He was recognized by then-Governor Christine Todd Whitman for his work supporting patients who suffered from the rare muscular disease he was afflicted with, Myasthenia Gravis.

In 2005, he was blessed to receive a liver transplant at University of North Carolina Hospital at Chapel Hill, and was cared for during his recovery by his son Sean. Brian then spent years living with his brother Jimmy in North Carolina, enjoying their cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains with his dog Stanner. He was an ever-loving father to his sons, and tirelessly supported them as they achieved successful careers in education and chiropractic medicine. He lived his final years in Bayside, Queens with his loving partner Linda. He sincerely appreciated the care he received from his doctors, especially Dr. Sanford M. Ratner. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered, especially by his sons who are forever grateful to him.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, October 7th, beginning with a 9:30 a.m. funeral mass at Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at 48 Ball Street, Port Jervis, New York. A graveside prayer and burial will follow immediately after at Saint Mary’s Cemetery on E. Main Street, with repast thereafter. Brian will be laid to rest next to his mother Ann Kinney-Hauck, uncle Thomas Kinney, aunt Jean Skidmore, Jeanne’s husband Nathaniel, and Brian’s maternal grandparents Lauretta “Mother Kinney” McCormack-Kinney and James “Dad” Kinney.

Brian has asked his mourners to contribute to his family’s fund to support his niece HelenAnne Ostrander-Lewis, who is currently battling cancer.

Click here to donate online: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-squad-for-helenanne-lewisostrander.