Amanda Lou McLean

Amanda was born May 26, 1939 in Datha, Kentucky to Robert and Mary Gladys Reynolds. Her earliest years were spent in Kentucky until her family moved to Dayton, Ohio when she was three years old. She chose to go to Granby, Colorado to spend her senior year of high school living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. While attending Middle Park High School, she met Gene McLean. They graduated from MPHS in 1957 in a class of 30 students. Gene and Amanda married on September 27, 1958 in Montgomery, Alabama. They lived in Alabama and California while Gene was in the Air Force and returned to Colorado in 1964. Two sons, Mark and Paul, were born in California, and two daughters, Melissa and Molly, were born in Colorado. Their 65-year marriage was full of love for each other and their four children.

Amanda returned to college at age 32 and earned her bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She then embarked on a career teaching elementary school in Longmont until her retirement in 2002. From a young age, Amanda wanted to be a teacher and could be found lining up the neighborhood children to teach them to read. She fulfilled her dream teaching third, fourth, and fifth graders at Spangler Elementary, Central Elementary, Burlington Elementary, and Longmont Estates Elementary schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District. Her students and her colleagues remember her as an inspiring and influential teacher who valued knowledge, justice, and compassion.

Amanda’s retirement years were filled with travels near and far with family and friends. She and Gene traveled annually to Kentucky to spend time with her cousins and friends for a few months at a time. She had 36 first cousins! Amanda was involved in Calvary Church in Longmont, Delta Kappa Gamma educational sorority, and Bible Study Fellowship in Colorado and Kentucky. Amanda and Gene were Colorado Rockies fans and even attended a World Series game at Coors Field. Amanda was an avid reader throughout her life and loved to read to her students, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Amanda is survived by her husband, Gene McLean, her sons Mark (Becky) McLean and Paul (Margareth) McLean, her daughters Melissa (Don) Turner and Molly (Travis) Roberts, grandchildren Emily (Bryce) Boynton, Anna (Anthony) Nguyen, Laura (Tim) Finnegan, Magdalena McLean, Maria McLean, Chaise (Jasmine) Turner, Cheyanne (Ian) Beggs, and Daniel Turner, and great-grandchildren Clara, Hattie, Lyric, Harper, Owen, James, Andrew, Allie, Michael, Josslyn, Lily, Nathan, and Ruby, her special niece Jannie Dent, as well as many additional nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Martha Geraldine Guthrie.

A celebration of life for Amanda will be held Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Howe Mortuary Chapel, 439 Coffman Street, Longmont, Colorado 80501. A reception will follow at 12:00 PM. Inurnment will take place at Foothills Gardens of Memory at a later date.

For those who are not able to attend in person please join the livestream by clicking on the join livestream link under the services section of this page or by clicking directly on this link https://vimeo.com/event/4174475/5c2007cf66

Services are entrusted to Howe Mortuary & Crematory of Longmont, Colorado.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.howemortuary.com for the McLean family.