Remembering Aunt Janet

My Aunt Janet (Janet McLean) passed away last night at the age of eighty in Pelion, South Carolina. Joe and I had the joy of visiting her and my Uncle Doug during our travels in 2023 — a visit I’ll always be grateful for. Uncle Doug passed away just a few months ago, on July 17th, so I find comfort in knowing we were able to see them both together one last time.

Some of my fondest memories of Janet go back many years. She came to California with my mom to meet my newborn daughter, Megan, sometime between mid-March and early April of 1992. Megan would have been about a month or two old. That summer, in July, my mom (Janet’s baby sister), Megan, and I drove to South Carolina to visit Janet, Doug, and their daughter, Angel. I remember that visit so clearly — full of laughter, family stories, and the easy warmth that always surrounded Janet.

For about ten years or so, I’d send all of my Christmas gifts to Ohio, and when Janet was visiting from South Carolina, she would lovingly wrap them for my parents and siblings. It may seem like a small thing, but it meant a lot to me — one of the many ways she quietly showed her love and care for others.

Growing up, I thought my Aunt Janet was a movie star. With her blonde hair and that radiant smile, she seemed to light up every room she entered. She was eleven years older than me, so most of my memories are of her in her mid-to-late teens — beautiful, confident, and ready to take on the world. Then she married Uncle Doug, and off they went together on their Navy adventures.

I loved her very much, and I’m so thankful for the chance to visit and reminisce with her in 2023. Those moments will stay with me always.

Obituary link for family members reading this: Janet Ruth Hudkins McLean Obituary October 4, 2025 - Culler-McAlhany Funeral Home