Christina P Maclean

On January 31 of this year, Christina Maclean died of heart failure after a long illness. Christina was born on January 14, 1941, in Dublin, Ireland. An orphan, she was brought up by nuns in a Catholic convent in Dublin where her education was sadly neglected by the nuns. In typical determination, she taught herself to read and write.

At the age of 16, she migrated to Britain and eventually became a nanny in London to Paul and Mary Preston now residing in Scottsdale. As a nanny, she helped raise the Preston’s two daughters and her own four children: three daughters and one son from her marriage to one Rupert Baptiste.

On Rupert’s death in 2000, Christina applied for Canadian citizenship. That never materialized: she married a Scottish American, Duncan (Ron) Maclean with whom she lived here in Mesa. In their early years of marriage, Christina and Ron traveled a lot, notably to New Zealand and Australia and, of course to the UK where her son and one daughter live in London. Christina’s heart problems ended their travel and they have been leading a quiet life in Leisure World.

Although not a very active person, Christina enjoyed reading, listening to music and watching TV; her favorite DVD was an Andre Rieu concert from Dublin. She was not competitive, but she liked playing lawn bowls and pool and she excelled at solving Sudoku puzzles.

Christina is survived by her husband Ron, three daughters, one son and four grandchildren. She will be missed by many, but all say they are fortunate to have known her. Her employer, Paul Preston, summed up her life nicely when he said that “she was not educated, but she had street smarts.”

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

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Please contact the staff of Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park & Funeral Care for questions or comments.