Date of Birth:
Saturday, May 2, 1931
Date of Death:
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Age:
94 years old

Earl Arthur McCleary

Earl Arthur McCleary passed away peacefully on July 3, 2025, at the age of 94 of natural causes in Chanhassen, Minnesota, comforted by family after living a full and meaningful life.

He was born on May 2, 1931, in Fairmont, Minnesota, to Paul and Gertrude McCleary.  He grew up and attended school through high school in the small town of Granada, MN, near Fairmont, graduating from Granada High School in 1949.  He attended Mankato Business School for one year. He then enlisted and served in the Navy for four years from 1951-1955, serving near Washington, DC, and at the Navy base in Adak, Alaska.  After his Honorable Discharge from the Navy in 1955, he attended Mankato State College on the GI Bill for four years, majoring in Business Education, with minors in History and Social Sciences. He obtained his teaching certificate for teaching business and social studies for grades 7-12, and then taught high school history for several years in Mankato.

In March of 1957, Earl married Mary Ann Jandt, who had graduated from Loyola High School in Mankato, and was working as a nurse.  They were married in Vernon Center, MN.  After several years working in Mankato, they moved to Rochester, MN, where Earl worked for 33 years as a social worker for Olmsted County Social Services.  He primarily worked helping mentally ill adults.  Earl also worked part-time nights and weekends for JC Penney company for 16 years in the sporting goods and shoe departments.  He retired from both jobs in 1993.

Earl was married to Mary Ann for 37 years.  They had five children, Dave, Mike, Lynette, John, and Therese.  They were dedicated parents teaching their children good values and supporting their education, sports, and many activities.  Through these years Earl made it a priority to be there for all of their activities, including being a Cub Scout den father.  He also volunteered for Knights of Columbus at St. Pius Catholic Church.

In 1997, Earl married Elaine Ryan, a history desk employee at the Mayo Clinic, who also had five adult children.  They lived in Rochester and enjoyed very much going ballroom dancing, playing cards, going for walks, traveling, and watching the Minnesota Twins on TV together.  Elaine passed away in 2020.  Earl continued to live in Rochester until 2022, when he moved to Riley Crossing Senior Living in Chanhassen, MN (near where his daughter Lynette lives).  He lived there until he passed away.  He enjoyed playing cards there, both Bridge and other card games, and playing bingo.  He had a reputation there of being the best card player around and of being a very kind person.

During his life Earl loved ballroom dancing and playing cards – he was very good at both of them.  He was so good at playing cards that he would purposely lose at times so people would not give up and would continue to play.  He also enjoyed leather tooling, following sports, and fishing on MN lakes. He was a very good high school basketball player and enjoyed shooting baskets with his grandchildren (great running hook shot).

He is survived by four of his children, Dave (Ana Cristina) of Federal Way, WA, Mike of Chandler, AZ, Lynette (Doug) of Chanhassen, MN, and Therese (Joel) of Homewood, IL.  He was preceded in death by his son John.  He is survived by nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.  He is also survived by his two sisters, Bonnie and Sherry.

Earl’s memorial service will occur on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 2:00PM in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home. Visitation will begin one hour prior, at 1:00PM, in the River Park Chapel. A reception is planned to follow. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery, Rochester, MN following the reception.

Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com