Bruce Robert McLean, age 67, passed away at his home in Kiester, MN. The family will be having a private celebration of life at a later date. Nasinec Funeral Home in Wells is entrusted with arrangements. Please see www.nasinecfh.com to leave online condolences.

Bruce was born August 25, 1955 in Ashland, Wisconsin to Robert Burns and Delores Jean McLean (Stielow). Formerly married to Sandra Elizabeth Forsberg on June 2, 1984 and having one son together, Shannon Gregory McLean.

Bruce was a lumberjack and woodworker in his earlier years, building log cabins in Northern Minnesota around Grand Marais and eventually wanderlust brought him to Alaska where he spent a good portion of his years as a commercial fisherman. He absolutely loved Alaska, but more importantly the Eskimo girlfriends he had up there. Bruce eventually returned to Minnesota in 2012 and worked for many years with RJ’s Contracting and I-90 Recycling until he retired in 2018.

Bruce was the self-proclaimed “Smartest man in the world” and always had a story to tell no matter the situation or conversation. You never left without learning something new.   In the recent years, his hobbies included woodworking, collecting coins and bills, an important hobby which he passed down to his grandsons, listening to John Prine and the Irish Rovers, watching old western shows/movies and exploring the opportunities the internet offered him. He would always use the internet to research new things and passed along the information to hold up his title of the World’s Smartest Man. If you were around Bruce often enough, you would know the capitols of every U.S state, province in Canada and even some capitols from countries around the world. If you were to ask his grandkids any capitals; more than likely, they would be able to tell you. He was a great teacher and a very wise man. He had a profound love for axes and swords, really anything with a blade. He never needed much to survive and would bathe in a creek if he had to as long as his “crucial parts” were clean, as he would say. He was a Scotsman through and through and he wore his kilt with pride.  You could tell he was Scottish by the way he said bat-ry (battery), lit-l (little) and the use of the word lad.

Bruce had a heart of gold.  His son, Shannon, meant everything to him. His grandkids also meant the world to him. Bruce took his grandson out to Sturgis, the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore and Custer National Park. He always meant to bring his other grandkids and daughter-in-law up north to see all the beautiful colors in the fall, but unfortunately never got the chance. It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.

Preceded in death by his parents Delores (Stielow) and Robert; Sisters Lois Suck and Fran Lancaster.

Survived by his only child Shannon and his wife Tessa McLean; Brothers Tim and Byron McLean; Sister Jackie Nelson; Grandkids Kyler (Raine) Sipple, Kadin (Annie) Sipple and Taylor Sipple; A few very special friends Pat Oquist, Jim VanAmberg, Rodney Chappell, Ole Stafne, Richard Redman and his girlfriend as he called her, Adrienne Bryan.