Obituary of Rhoda Mclean

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of Rhoda Mclean, who passed away in the presence of her loving family at the St. John’s Intensive Care Unit, at the age of 65. Predeceased by her parents, Percy & Sadie, brothers Sidney, Wilfred, Eldred, sisters-in-law Judy & Kitty, and brother-in-law Isaac Toope, as well as in-laws Catherine & Gregory Coffey. Rhoda leaves to mourn the love of her life and partner of 43 years, Ken Coffey, daughter Tonya Mclean (Adam Crase), her treasured grandchildren, Aurora and Hudson, as well as her siblings Selby (Cicely), Maitland (Dorothy), Lillian Peyton (John), Mona Toope, Fanny Gill (Pammy), Rowena Oake (Terry), Percy (Linda), Barry (Jackie), Bruce (Sylvia), sisters-in-law Lydia, Kay, Beverley Mazzarolo (John Paul), Margaret Tremblay (James), brother-in-law Keith Coffey (Valerie), long-time friend and neighbour Dorothy White (Tony), a large circle of nieces & nephews, extended family and friends. Born and raised in her beloved Green Island Cove, NL, she was a proud Newfoundlander, the daughter of a fisherman, and the youngest girl in a family of 13 children. She loved Labrador and spent most of her life in Labrador City. Rhoda was extremely dedicated and hard-working, and spent her career working at Newfoundland & Labrador Housing Corporation for 35 years. She retired in 2015, and later went on to work at Sharron’s Flowers. Rhoda was an incredibly generous person. She volunteered with Girl Guides, the Canadian Cancer Society, and Mission Kitty, and truly had a soft spot for those in need. She often quietly helped others behind the scenes, and was not one for the limelight. Rhoda had a remarkable creative streak, was very resourceful, and spent endless hours sewing, quilting, and knitting, among other talents. She could knit anything just by seeing a photo, personalizing it without any kind of pattern. Rhoda did a lot of small things with great love for her family. She cooked and baked, even sending homemade cookies and dog treats to Tonya in Halifax. She baked fresh muffins for Kenny so often that his coworkers dubbed him “The Muffin Man”. Rhoda enjoyed the simple life, and spent a lot of time walking trails, snowshoeing, skating, enjoying time at the cabin, and picking berries in the fall. To Rhoda, growing potatoes was a competitive sport. She loved to lay in the sun while reading a book to relax. Her two young grandchildren, Aurora and Hudson, were the pride and joy of Rhoda’s life. Rhoda had boundless energy, particularly for dancing to traditional Newfoundland music. She would be the first on the dance floor, and the last one out there at 4 AM. She taught many nephews how to dance, and fully embraced her Newfoundland heritage with pride – the food, sealskin boots, homemade bread with a cup of tea, and mummering. She had quite the sense of humour and was known to write hilarious versions of things like the “The Night Before Christmas” for her coworkers, and dressing up as Santa for her grandchildren. A sincere thank you to family and friends for their support during this incredibly difficult time, and to the wonderful staff at the Intensive Care Unit at the Health Sciences Centre for providing such compassionate care during her time there. Her family would also like to recognize the efforts of Dr. Nwaokenya, Dr. Costello, Ronnie Alexander and the team in Labrador City for all their support. She’ll be forever missed and never forgotten. Family and friends may visit from 7-9pm on Friday, March 20, 2026 at Temple's Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Labrador City . As an expression of sympathy, donations can be made to the Labrador West Health Centre, or the Canadian Cancer Society. Obituray was shared from Caul's Funeral Home - St. John's, NL