Joseph Edwin McLean

On December 12, 1944 the cries of a newborn babe rang across the MacDill air force base outside of Tampa, Florida. Joseph Sylvester McLean and his wife Mary Earlene McLean (Yates) looked on at their new child. It was the beginning of the 80 year life of Joseph Edwin McLean.

Not long afterwards the new family returned to Bristol, Pennsylvania and grew to include a sister (Jaqualine McLean) and a brother (John McLean). In a home built by his father’s hands, Joe McLean grew to become a high school football star at Delhaas High School (Class of 1962). He went on to the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where his football prowess attracted the attention of numerous NFL scouts, including the Green Bay Packers.

But his University career was cut short in 1965, as the war in Vietnam required more soldiers and he was required to enlist. The US Army recognized his talents and he became a soldier in the Special Forces of the 101st Airborne Division. Wearing the Green Beret he deployed to Vietnam for multiple tours. Parachuting to remote locations in the theater, Joe and his special forces team trained and led units of the native Montagnard soldiers in the fight against the north. Before his discharge in 1975, Joe McLean had earned a variety of commendations, including three bronze stars.

Upon returning from war, Joe fell in love in many ways. No doubt this included his 1967 Chevrolet Corvette in Marlboro maroon, but it also included his soon to be wife (Roberta Michelle Buccigross). After some time in Massachusetts, Joe and Robbie moved to a small camp on Sabattus Pond in Greene, Maine. As they expanded the camp, they also expanded their family, adding a son in 1979 (Joseph Michael McLean) and a daughter in 1982 (Kathrine Elizabeth McLean).

But Joe was not ready to settle down. After separating from Robbie in 1986, Joe remained in the Lewiston/Auburn area. He was a proud member of many of the major social clubs in downtown Lewiston. While human beings are social creatures, Joe was perhaps more so. He seemed to be at his happiest while surrounded by friends, laughing and telling stories. He was always ready for a cocktail and hopeful that his friends would join him. No one perhaps more than the eventual love of his life, Kelly Sue Laliberte. While never married, Joe and Kelly had many good years together before she passed away too early in 2015.

Over the years he tried his hand at a number of careers, including stints at Sysco, Bath Iron Works, and as a construction contractor. But his time in the millwork department at the Home Depot in Auburn was his longest and where he retired. If you were struggling to hang a door, Joe could always point you in the right direction.

Despite the size, strength, and toughness that exemplified Joe’s character, age has a way of cutting a man down. In the end, Joe succumbed to complications from cancer on March 26, 2025, surrounded by his family. Joe is survived by his two children (Joseph M. McLean and Kathrine Faucette), their spouses (Andrea McLean and Gary Faucette), and six grandchildren (Logan McLean, Wells McLean, Ivy McLean, Theodore McLean, Dexter Faucette and Everett Faucette).

A service in remembrance of Joe’s life will occur at The Fortin & Pinette Group, 305 Alfred Plourde Parkway in Lewiston on April 2nd starting at 3pm, including words of remembrance starting at 5pm. A gathering will follow the service at the ACME Social Club on Park Street in Lewiston. His ashes will be committed to the Maine Veterans Cemetery in Augusta.