Dolores “Del” MacLean

Dolores “Del” Cecile (Fraser) MacLean, 86, of Naples, Florida, passed away peacefully on October 9, 2026. Dolores was born in Madawaska, Maine on October 26, 1939, to Hermanegilde and Isabel (Michaud) Fraser, (both born and raised on L’Isle Vert, Quebec, Canada). She, her parents, and 7 siblings relocated to Lewiston, Maine where she attended local parochial schools (speaking little English until age 10), was a finalist in the Miss Lewiston-Auburn Pageant in 1958 and graduated from St. Dominic Academy the same year. She was the school page reporter for the Lewiston Evening Journal in 1955-56, worked at The Poland Spring House in Poland, Maine and at Pirate’s Cove Restaurant on Bailey Island, where she met her husband, David Peter MacLean, of Brunswick, Maine They were married on December 6, 1958, in Brunswick and resided near the end of Pinkham’s Point where they remained until 1965.

In 1965, David and Del purchased and renovated an old farmhouse with some land on outer McKeen Street in Brunswick. As their 4 children grew, Del worked part time as an Avon representative, a waitress at Howard Johnson’s, and as a Tupperware hostess. Between babies 4 and 5, she started her own business, “Ye Yarn Barn” in a small room at the front of the house. The business soon outgrew the space, so David renovated the bottom floor of the barn and they moved her shop in. She enjoyed and excelled at this business, where customers could purchase yarn and other fiber arts materials and take lessons in knitting and crocheting. She was the proprietor of “Ye Yarn Barn” for over a decade, (until the home was sold). Del was also great with accounting and kept the books for David’s foundation business in addition to her own.

David and Del separated in 1978 and divorced. In 1981, Del closed the yarn shop, sold the house on McKeen St., and moved to Marietta, GA where she worked for “Bernat”, a France-based yarn company she had done business with, and was very useful to because of her French-speaking background. A year later she moved to Naples, Florida, where she obtained her real estate license and was part of the opening team for both “Lely Resort Golf & Country Club” in Naples, and then “Windstar” on Naples Bay. After some years there, Del then worked at and purchased a home near “Grey Oaks”, a lovely golf community in central Naples, where she excelled in selling real estate and thoroughly enjoyed her work there. Del was their top salesperson and was recognized for her achievements at Grey Oaks and within the greater Naples real estate market several times with awards and accolades until she retired.

After retiring, Del traveled the U.S., Europe, plus several trips to L’Isle Vert, a small island in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, and to Quebec City, where she had extended family and enjoyed many summers. She was very proud of her French-Canadian heritage. Del loved her family and often hosted special gatherings for them and friends at her home of 25 years in the “Walden Oaks” community of Naples, where she remained until 2023. From 2023 until her death, she resided at “Aston Gardens”, a retirement community in North Naples, Florida.

Del is survived by her 5 children: Stephen MacLean of Brunswick, Maine, Tracey MacLean of St. Augustine, Florida, Mary MacLean of Bozeman, Montana, Allyson MacLean and Amanda MacLean of Naples, Florida, and her 5 grandchildren, Joshua MacLean, Savannah MacLean, Zev Bliss, Frankie Bliss, and Carli Bliss, plus several nieces, nephews, and cousins in the U.S. and Canada.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Matthews House (homeless shelter and addiction resource center), as it was a cause she supported over the years: www.stmatthewshouse.org.

A gathering will be held on Monday, October 19th, at 1:30 p.m., at Hodges Funeral Home (525 111th Avenue N, Naples, FL 34108) followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m.