By Nicole Falco
Mrs. MacLean was a familiar face around the village and at Village Hall, and an outspoken commentator on decisions made by many administrations. She was appointed village clerk in 1979 by then-Mayor Ward. In a brief autobiography written about 10 years ago, Mrs. MacLean called her appointment a "priceless opportunity to serve Valley Stream." Ward, a lifelong friend, was also Mrs. MacLean's gym teacher when she attended the Brooklyn Avenue School.
Upon Ward's death, less than a year into his term, Furey became mayor. Mrs. MacLean was let go when Ralph Greco was elected mayor in 1983.
Feeling that her dismissal as village clerk was unjust, Mrs. MacLean filed a suit against the village and was awarded a monetary settlement.
Despite her disappointment with the village administration in 1983, Mrs. MacLean accepted an appointment as deputy village clerk in the James Darcy administration. She called the appointment "icing on the cake," and she served from 1995 to 1999.
"I think it's a great loss for the village," said Darcy, currently the Town of Hempstead councilman for this area. "She was a very active, vital part of the village. She was a very good mentor in teaching you the way to make sure government worked the way it was supposed to -- she was a watchdog."
In explaining why he asked Mrs. MacLean to serve as deputy village clerk, Darcy said, "She had a strong working knowledge of government at different levels. She was the kind of person you could put on a problem and she would work on it until she solved it. She was like a bulldog."
Mrs. MacLean's "incurable disease: keen interest in all levels of municipal government," as she put it, wasn't confined to service in the 1980s and '90s. She served as a Democratic member of the bipartisan parks commission, initiated by Arthur J. Hendrickson and John McKenna, beginning in 1954. She was instrumental in developing the Hendrickson Park pool complex. Her name is on a plaque at the pool. According to her son, Richard, Mrs. MacLean was extremely proud of her efforts in planning for the pool complex.
"She was a very knowledgeable person who really had the village's good at heart," said Vinny Ang, village clerk. "She tried to do what was right for the village [and] she always believed that she was doing the best for the village."
Martha Jacovides, former editor of the Valley Stream Maileader and Valley Stream Herald, often called on Mrs. MacLean in order to learn from her extensive knowledge of the village. "She was one sharp lady," Jacovides said. "She held strong opinions and had a memory to match. When I knew I had to research a village-government story I would call on her first for when it happened, who was mayor and who was involved. Then I knew where to find the information I needed."
Another co-worker and friend, Gene Limerick, also noted her helpfulness. He said, "She was a wonderful woman who has done a lot in her time. I'm certainly going to miss her."
Limerick and his wife, Florence, became friends with the MacLeans when their children attended school together. Limerick worked for the village as sanitation supervisor when Mrs. MacLean was village clerk.
In addition to her village service, Mrs. MacLean ran unsuccessfully for trustee in the 1950s. She was a member of the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce, a founding member of the Valley Stream Historical Society, a member of the Valley Stream Taxpayers Association and the Gibson Civic Association. She also served as chairwoman of the 50th anniversary committee at the Brooklyn Avenue School, and was honored with lifetime membership by the PTA. She was also a member of the Central High School Alumni Association and the Valley Stream Democratic Club.
"She put a lot of time into the village," said Mayor Edward Cahill. "She was a tireless worker. She had a lot of energy."
Born in 1919, Mrs. MacLean moved to Valley Stream with her parents and two brothers, Charlie and Robert. They lived on Cochran Place. She attended the Brooklyn Avenue School and Central High School, graduating in 1936 as salutatorian.
Joe Bergen, a longtime friend of Mrs. MacLean's, graduated three years behind her. Bergen was also very active politically in the 1950s and '60s. He served on the parks commission with Mrs. MacLean.
"She was a very helpful person, I would say,' Bergen said. "She was a very smart woman."
Bergen graduated from high school with Mrs. MacLean's late husband, Edward. Oddly enough, she didn't meet her husband at school. The two met while vacationing with their families upstate, and were married in 1944. Edward was a member of the District 24 Board of Education and the high school board. He served some 20 years in District 24 until the early 1970s. He died in 1999.
After high school, Mrs. MacLean attended the Katharine Gibbs School, and then worked for the New York City Housing Authority. While working full time, she attended New York University, and later Fordham University, graduating from Fordham in 1944. During her graduation, word spread that American troops had landed in France. This news was important to her, since Edward was a pilot at the time who successfully completed 95 World War II missions. The couple married when he returned home later that year.
Mrs. MacLean stopped working for the housing authority to devote herself to motherhood. She and Edward had four children. Later they ran a business, Best Impressions Inc., on Rockaway Avenue, from 1963 to 1979. Best Impressions was an audio/visual copy and printing business.
"What I've always admired about my mother was her strong sense of conviction," daughter Margaret MacLean said. "She was very outgoing. She had strong beliefs in right and wrong and in Valley Stream, and in making Valley Stream a better place for us. As her children, we learned a lot from her. I hope we are setting that example for our own children."
Richard MacLean said his mother's life revolved around her community and her family.
Besides Margaret, of Valley Stream, and Richard and his wife, Maureen Cadden, of Easton, Conn., Mrs. MacLean is survived by another daughter, Nancy Gerbeau, and her husband, Daniel, of Paris; a son, Gregory, and his wife, Susan, of Old Tappan, N.J.; a brother, Robert Elderkin, of Litchfield, Conn.; and seven grandchildren, Eric and Emily Gerbeau; Richard's children, Katherine, Rebecca and Edward; and Gregory's children, Dylan and Matthew.
A wake will be held for Mrs. MacLean at the Moore Funeral Home on Nov. 28 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral Mass will take place at Holy Name of Mary on Nov. 29 at 9:45 a.m. Burial will immediately follow the Mass at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury.
