George Mclean

George S. McLean, formerly of Stoughton and Holbrook, Mass., loving husband of Jean (Currier) McLean, died Monday of complications from pneumonia. He was 86. He and his wife were married for 65 years and lived in Sarasota since 1973.

He was a warm, caring man who made friends wherever he went. He was always calm, cool and collected, and was a 15-year cancer survivor.

He attended Stoughton Public Schools and worked through high school at the Shawmut Woolen Mills. He attended Northeastern University before enlisting in the Navy in November 1942.

McLean was a retired meteorologist who spent his career performing advanced research on weather systems, the Jet Stream and clear air turbulence, as a civilian for the U.S. Air Force. He found his calling as an aerographers mate in the U.S. Navy during World War II. As a crewman on the U.S.S. Joseph T. Dickman, he was one of the key forecasters for the D-Day Normandy invasion, the Battle of Okinawa and other major operations in both the European and Pacific theaters.

Following his discharge, McLean completed his education at Boston University and M.I.T., completing both undergraduate and graduate studies in mathematics and meteorology, and worked for Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass. He was a professional member of the American Meteorological Society and won a number of awards for his research related to the jet stream and clear-air turbulence.

He was the son of George S. McLean Sr. and Irene (Pond) McLean and the brother of Shirley Blanchard, Lawrence and John (Jack), who preceded him in death by many years.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Richard K. McLean and his wife Marian “Molly” Anderson of Osprey; a daughter, Jan Thomas of Sarasota; three grandchildren, Michelle Thomas of Marco Island, Kristin Thomas Nagle of Verona, Wisc., and Fred McLean of Sarasota; and three great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to Tidewell Hospice, 5955 Rand Boulevard, Sarasota FL 34238.

Arrangements under the direction of National Cremation & Burial Society, Sarasota, FL.