Naomi Jean McLean passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at the United Pioneer Home in Luck, Wisconsin, at the age of 97.
Naomi was born May 6, 1926, and she was a lifelong resident of the Cushing and St. Croix Falls area. Much of her youth was spent at her grandparents’ house in town, and at her aunt and uncle’s farm on the outskirts of St. Croix Falls where she was surrounded with cousins and she picked up her love of horses and riding bareback. She worked at the Munsingwear factory in St. Croix Falls after high school, where they made underwear for the war effort, and she used to say that her job was to sew the buttons on for the flap on the back of the one piece long johns. She later worked at the Dime Store where she became friends with Nellie McLean. Nellie had a brother that she wanted Naomi to meet and ... as they say ... the rest is history, as Ralph and Naomi became husband and wife on Nov. 28 of 1946.
They moved to the dairy farm owned by Ralph’s parents in Eureka Township and partnered with them until they took over ownership from them in the early 1960s. They raised three sons ... Dennis, Larry and John ... and Naomi was not only a mother and housewife, but she was also a true partner with her husband. She milked cows and did fieldwork, working side by side with each other, and because money was tight they made due with the old machinery that Ralph kept running. Some of the machinery was originally horse drawn and they converted over to be pulled by the tractor, which also meant that someone had to ride on the equipment to run the controls, and that was usually Naomi’s job. Every spring she rode on the grain drill and corn planter, through the sun and dust, to plant the fields that they would harvest in the fall. She also was instrumental in loading and unloading of the hay wagons during the haying season. She was one tough lady. During that time, she also took a job working at the telephone office to help pay for the new dairy barn they built. This was back in the time when to place a call, you picked up the phone and an operator came on to ask what number you wanted, and they connected you, so if you are old enough to remember doing that in St. Croix Falls, you probably talked to Naomi at one time.
She loved people and visiting, whether it was playing cards with aunts and uncles and cousins, or at dances where her husband played with his polka band. She was an amazing cook who could take whatever her sons had hunted in the woods, or caught in the river, and made it into a delicious meal that never had leftovers. She also had the skill that most farmwives had, where she could prep a meal before evening milking started, and have it timed so that it was ready when the milking and chores were done, and everyone sat down for supper. She was an incredible mom and loving grandmother, and they loved her stories and her molasses cookies. She loved to deer hunt ... from the early days of going up to the McLean hunting shack in Moose Junction with her husband, to into her 80s. The year she turned 80, she went out in the woods before dawn on opening day with her old 38/40 ... bagged her buck and had it dressed out and waiting for her son to arrive and drag it out of the woods. She also loved her Ranger ATV, and in her later years, one of her greatest joys was driving it around the farm, through the woods, and to visit neighbors, and lastly... she enjoyed Gunsmoke, The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune, and those three shows became part of her daily routine.
Naomi had amazing knowledge and recollection for the history of the area. This included where stores and businesses were located in the towns in the area and what years they became something else. You could take her down any street in St. Croix Falls, or any road in any of the townships around it, and she could tell you who used to live in each house, who their kids were and who their kids married. Someone recently said that instead of asking Google for information about this area, you should just ask Naomi.
Naomi was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph, and son, Dennis. She is survived by son, Larry (Rose) McLean of Colorado Springs, Colorado; son, John McLean of St. Croix Falls; daughter-in-law, Sandra McLean of Waseca, Minnesota; brother, Bob (Jan) Olson of Chisago City; nine grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. She will be greatly missed.
