Obituary of Roger MacLellan

MacLELLAN, Roger B.

River John

MacLellan, Roger Brent, 63 of River John, NS, passed away peacefully at the Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital, Tatamagouche, with his loving family at his side after a courageous fight with cancer.  Born in Pictou on January 20th, 1956, Roger proudly lived in the village of River John.  Learning how to run and operate heavy equipment at a very young age, he quickly mastered the fine art of excavation, operating old machinery better than most could a fork and knife.  His knack for make-shifting quick mechanical fixes (which often became permanent) came from his education through the ‘School of Life’ (and probably a bit from Pictou Regional Vocational School, class of 1974).  His creativity and talents in excavation never failed to impress his customers.  He loved his work, mostly because of the opportunities it brought to meet many new friends.  He joined the Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal family in 2002 where he operated snowplows for winter work and mentored many new operators who quickly became like family.  Predeceased by his brother, James “Jimmy” MacLellan, and father, Lloyd MacLellan, Roger leaves behind his three cherished and adoring daughters; Jayme (Jason Baillie) MacLellan, Krysta (Dwayne Heighton) MacLellan and Brittany MacLellan; grandson, Ethyn “Grampy’s Boy” MacLellan; loving mother, Agnes MacLellan; chosen brother, Terry (Chrissie) Jamieson and their children Jamie and Heidi; former wife and best friend, Cathy “Elaine” MacLellan; and countless dear friends who to him, were also family.  Roger also leaves behind a half-ton Chevy with nearly 700,000 kms which would surely survive a nuclear disaster, a sizeable collection of printed jokes, a heck of a lot of miscellaneous truck parts and other ‘goodies’ that he never allowed family to scrap as “someone could use that!”.  Due to his modest, humble nature, he was excited about roadside finds (namely, bungee cords), and how he and his old machinery could outperform the newest of equipment.  He was never shy about sharing his opinion on important life matters, which were often expressed through cleverly crafted punch lines, (family wishes to apologize to the community ‘Tories’ and Ford owners for enduring the ongoing jokes and harassment over the years, and noisy midnight machine moves).  Roger was involved with and committed to the River John Waterfront Development project from the beginning.  Over the past three years, he donated countless hours of excavation and knowledge as well as serving on the waterfront committee.  His dedication to this project stemmed from his love of the water and his desire to see community members and visitors alike enjoy our beautiful waterways.  In honour of his dedication to see this project a reality, family ask any donations to be made in his memory to the River John Community Action Society.  Roger was a genuinely kind, loving man who despite his small stature, had a heart larger than life, often going out of his way to help a friend, a stranger, or animal in need; he would want us all to do the same.  His 27 years of sobriety was often nurtured through his need and wish to help others along the same path.  The AA program was an important and valued part of his life, along with the many friends he had met through it.  His love of telling jokes and making people laugh will always be remembered and his presence is deeply missed.  In his honor, please share a joke, buy a stranger’s coffee, and live fully.  “Fill your life with experiences, not things.  Have stories to tell, not stuff to show”.  Cremation has taken place and a visitation will be held on Friday, August 16th at the River John Fire Hall, from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM.  A family service will be held at a later date.  www.mclarenfuneral.ca