Donald Blanchard "Don" McLellan

11/13/1928 - 8/13/2025

Mystic - Donald "Don" Blanchard McLellan of Mystic, passed away Aug. 13, 2025. He was born Nov. 13, 1928, in New York City, the son of the late John Douglas and Dorothy (Blanchard) McLellan.

Don received his bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1950, and his M.B.A. from New York University in 1951. He was among the earliest group to earn his Chartered Financial Analyst certification, with a certificate number of 714. He worked as a CFA, in Los Angeles and New York, until retirement.

In 1951, Don married Jeane Selkirk, who predeceased him in 2017. They raised their family in Los Angeles, where Don was involved in various organizations, including Cub Scouts and the Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church, where he was an elder. He also earned his 200 peaks from the the Sierra Club. The family spent their vacations camping in the Sierras and other areas of the state. When Don and Jeane moved back to New Jersey in 1975, they continued hiking, and after retirement became involved with the Frost Valley Trailwalkers. They received several recognitions for their trail maintenance at Jockey Hollow National Park in Morristown, N.J. After moving to Connecticut, Don did what he called "trail maintenance" (trash pickup) on the road in front of Solstice in Groton. When he moved to Academy Point in Mystic a few years ago, he continued with shorter walks of one to two miles around the neighborhood, and frequent forays to the Mystic and Noank Library.

Don is survived by his sister, Patricia Leavitt, of Dover, N.H.; and his children, Patricia Schaefer (Tod) of Mystic, Donald Jr. (Sally McClelland) of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Richard (Barbara) of Taipei, Taiwan; eight grandsons; and five great-grandchildren. Besides his parents and wife, he was predeceased by his brother, John Jr.

Services will be private. To share a note of remembrance with his family, please visit dinotofuneral.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the Groton Public Library, Groton, CT or the Mystic and Noank Library in Mystic.