Thomas J. McLean

Thomas James, “Tom”, McLean, age 58, of Morrison, Iowa, passed away in his home on January 24, 2024. He was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on December 1, 1965, to Raymond James McLean and Sandra Kay (Maust) McLean. He graduated from Waterloo West High School in 1984 and earned his B.A. in Psychology at the University of Iowa in 1989. After college, he moved back to the Waterloo area and began working for BHCO’s Country View. He married Kelly Rossell on September 19, 1992, in the backyard of the Waterloo home they shared together; they remained married for over 31 years. 

Tom and Kelly purchased the Morris Inn Steakhouse on June 1, 1996 and this became a large part of their lives for the next 27 ½ years. They created a family at the Morris Inn and he built a reputation of being a father to those who needed it, a friend to those who wanted it, and a great person to those who knew him. Tom and his partner, Paul Cooley, also operated PT Grillers from 2002-2020 and were very successful. These are the facts of his life, but they are just dates. 

He considered his greatest accomplishment to be his children: Padraic Michael McLean (May 11, 1993), who, with his wife Lindsey, welcomed Tom and Kelly’s first grandchild, Tatum Rae McLean (December 6, 2023); Maia YaLei McLean (February 16, 2003), a third-year biology student at the University of Iowa, his alma mater; Mailea YanHua McLean (December 6, 2007), a sophomore at Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School. Tom loved his family and was a devoted father who was always coaching, cheering, encouraging, and supporting them in all their endeavors. 

Tom was a special part of his community and was known for being someone who would help anyone, with anything, at any time. Few men come along like this in someone’s lifetime and he will be missed by everyone whose life he touched. 

Tom was preceded in death by his father Ray and his sister Loanne Mowrer. He is survived by his wife, Kelly; his children, Padraic, Lindsey, Maia and Mailea; his granddaughter, Tatum Rae; his mother, Sandra; and all of his restaurant family.