William L. Will McLean IV

1957 - 2015

William L. McLean IV of Malvern William L. McLean, IV, known as “Will”, died on October 24, 2015 at home, of esophageal cancer. He was born on March 23, 1957 in Wynnewood, the son of William L. McLean III (“Bill”) and Elizabeth Peterson McLean. He was a 1975 graduate of the Episcopal Academy and a 1979 graduate of the College of Art, Architecture and Planning of Cornell University. It was at Cornell where he met his wife, Wendy (Whiteman). They wed in 1982 and raised two daughters at their home in Charlestown Township, Chester County. At the time of his death, Will was President and Chairman of Independent Publications, Inc., a newspaper holding company created by his father after the sale of the family’s prior newspaper enterprise, the Philadelphia Bulletin. He was a member of the Newspaper Association of America and a member and past Director of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. He greatly enjoyed spending time and creating landscape paintings at his cottage at the Blooming Grove Hunting and Fishing Club in Pike County, where he was the fourth generation of his family to be a proprietary member. Will’s passion was history – particularly the 14th century. In recent years, he had an article published in The Journal of Medieval Military History, which has since been cited in Armour of the English Knight, 1400-1450. He was an active member of La Belle Compagnie, a living history group portraying a noble household in the days of the Hundred Years War between England and France. He felt that engaging in living history – actually creating and using the accouterments pictured in historical images – was the best way to test assumptions about how they were constructed. He shared his passion generously with his many compatriots, both professionals and fellow independent scholars. His wit was legendary, as was his chivalry. He was co-author of Daily Life in Chaucer’s England, published by The Greenwood Press. That book and many others also contain illustrations by Will. His early work included illustrations for gaming publications, including the First Edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide. More information about his writing and artwork may be found on his blog, at willscommonplacebook.blogspot.com. Will is survived by his mother, Elizabeth P. McLean of Gladwyne, his wife, Wendy, daughters Diana McLean Liefer (Jake) and Susannah G. McLean and one granddaughter. Also surviving are siblings Lisa McLean, H. Brooke Katzenbach (Tom), Sandra McLean and Warden McLean (Kelly) and three nephews. He was predeceased by his father and a sister, Laura McLean. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 30 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at D’Anjolell Funeral Home, 392 Lancaster Avenue, Frazer, PA. A service will be held on Saturday, October 31 in the Chapel at The Church of the Good Samaritan, 212 W. Lancaster Avenue, Paoli, PA at 1:00 p.m.. Internment will be private. In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Will’s passion for research, scholarship and literacy, memorial donations to the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia or the Franklin Institute would be appreciated.