Dolores “Del” Cecile (Fraser) MacLean

Dolores “Del” Cecile (Fraser) MacLean loved deeply and was remarkable in so many ways: intelligent, generous, strong, with a laugh that none of us will ever forget, and the goddess of orchids! Born in Madawaska, Maine, to Hermanegilde and Isabel (Michaud) Fraser—native French speakers from L’Isle-Verte, Quebec, who with their seven children moved to Lewiston, Maine, where Del went to parochial school and learned English at age 10.

A 1958 graduate of St. Dominic Academy, she served as a school page reporter for the Lewiston Evening Journal and was a finalist in the Miss Lewiston-Auburn Pageant. While working seasonal jobs at Poland Spring House and Pirates Cove on Bailey Island... where Del and David’s love story began. David declared on the first day they met that they would be married, and on December 6th, they did, living on Pinkham’s Point until 1965, when they started renovations on their 200+ year old farmhouse on McKeen Street in Brunswick.

Del somehow balanced raising her growing family, being a devoted wife, working as an Avon representative, a Howard Johnson’s waitress, and hosting Tupperware parties, as well as keeping the books for David’s foundation company. Between having her fourth and fifth child, her creative drive led her to found “Ye Yarn Barn,” which began in the front room of their home. As the business flourished, her husband built a shop attached to the barn, where Del proudly ran her charming quality shop and taught her needlecraft wizardry.

In 1981, Del closed the yarn shop and sold the McKeen Street home following divorce. Relocating to Marietta, Georgia, she went to work for Phildar, a French yarn company that valued her knowledge, skills, and French fluency. By 1982, Naples, Florida, became her new home, launching a distinguished, decades-long career in luxury real estate. After contributing to projects at Lely Resort Golf & Country Club and Windstar on Naples Bay, she joined Grey Oaks and became top salesperson, earning numerous awards and accolades across the greater Naples real estate market before her retirement.

Del was proud of her French-Canadian heritage and cherished many a summer in Quebec City and L’Isle-Verte visiting extended family, along with traveling widely across the United States and Europe.

As a true matriarch, she delighted in being with friends and family in her home of 25 years in the Walden Oaks community of Naples, where she lived until moving to Aston Gardens in 2023.

Del is survived by her five children: Stephen MacLean of Brunswick, ME; Tracey MacLean of St. Augustine, FL; Mary MacLean of Bozeman, MT; and Allyson MacLean and Amanda MacLean, both of Naples, FL. She is also remembered by her five grandchildren: Joshua MacLean, Savannah MacLean, Zev Bliss, Frankie Bliss, and Carli Bliss; as well as many loving nieces, nephews, and cousins throughout the United States and Canada.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 1:30 at Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens, 525 111th Avenue North, Naples, FL 34108.

In place of donations, those who wish to bring flowers are welcome to do so and take them home afterwards as a keepsake.