ROCKLAND — Eleanor Webbley McClelland, 96 died on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at Breakwater Commons in Rockland. She was born June 11, 1927 in Arlington, Massachusetts, the second child of Frederick W. and Marian K. Webbley. Her birth date coincided with an historic event – the return of Charles Lindbergh after his solo flight across the Atlantic, and years later she was known to her niece and nephews as Aunt Lindy.

Eleanor and her sister Doris spent their early years in Auburn and Augusta, Maine where their father was an accountant for a textile mill. During the war, the family returned to the Boston area, which is where Eleanor met her future husband, Alan J. McClelland. After their marriage in June 1949, they lived first in Blacksburg, Virginia where Alan finished his engineering degree. In 1950, the couple moved to southern California, where their son, John, was born in 1952.

Alan’s work in the aerospace industry took the family first to northern California and then to Houston, Texas where his company was a major contractor at the Johnson Space Center. Eleanor worked for a large department store in Houston for a couple of years, but her primary focus was as a devoted and loving mother and homemaker. She was a source of strength and compassion for all who knew her.

When Alan retired in 1985 they moved to Camden, Maine where they made many good friends. They both volunteered at the Owls Head Transportation Museum. Eleanor and Alan were also world travelers in their retirement years, embarking on trips to the former Soviet Union, the Antarctic, the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, the Arctic, and Africa. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2009.

Alan died in 2010 and Eleanor continued to reside at Quarry Hill in Camden. A devotee of crossword puzzles, she was also a lover of cats. She amassed a large collection of colorful cat-themed socks that delighted her friends at the Anderson Inn. 

She is survived by her son, John, a part time Rockland resident.

A celebration of life for family and friends will be held next year at a date to be determined. Condolences may be shared at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com.  

Arrangements are with the Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 9 Mountain Street, Camden.