Douglas Maclean

Douglas Ward MacLean, 62, passed away at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Doug was born on August 28, 1961 in Lansing, Michigan to David George and Carolyn Ruth (Gambill) MacLean. He was named after his uncle who died in WWII on Iwo Jima at the age of 18. Doug attended Grayling Schools until the family moved to Custer, Michigan in 1975 while he was in the 9th grade. Growing up, Doug was involved in Boy Scouts with his brother and Dad, who was the Scoutmaster. Many hours were also spent helping out on the family farm, putting up hay, taking care of the cows and chickens and cutting wood in the back woods with his brother and dad. Doug graduated from Mason County Eastern in Custer before attending Western Michigan University where he studied Music Therapy and played in the marching band. In 1990, Doug married Tammy Burt and they stayed together until 2005. Doug’s main area of expertise was working on label printers that were used for applying labels to products on the production line or skids of products ready to be put on trucks. His work had him mainly traveling all over Michigan and Northern Indiana to repair printers as well as custom creating some label printer applications. With the explosion of craft breweries and a job that required travel, it became Doug’s goal in life to sample as many craft beers as possible and to not miss an event at the breweries he frequented. He spent so much time at Boatyard Brewery that he would give tours and eventually became an employee. It was at Boatyard Brewery that he made many of his closest friends, including his special friend Nichole Pineda. This group became his second family with friendships that continued strong even after the place closed. Doug, aka “Loquacious D”, was one that would do anything for anyone and could talk to anyone about anything. He enjoyed trivia night at various breweries, ventured out almost weekly for breakfast/lunch with his step-daughter on a quest to try to find that perfect place that was acceptable for “Miss Pickypants” and rarely missed family get-togethers including birthday parties for the niece and nephews and their children. He is survived by his sister Amy (Mike) Beebe, step-daughter Kaitlin Bunch, nephews Bret Beebe, Eric (Ty) Beebe, Andy (Lyndie) Beebe and niece Jackie (Kyle) Bigelow. Doug was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Bradley. A memorial service to celebrate Doug’s life will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at Brewery Outré in Kalamazoo. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Doug’s name to American Diabetes Association (https://diabetes.org/ways-to-contribute) or Wounded Warrior (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org).