Retired South African Press Association (Sapa) sports editor William ”Bill” Mclean (71) died in a Johannesburg clinic on Friday morning after a long illness, his family announced.
A veteran news-agency man, Mclean’s career with Sapa spanned more than three decades. A versatile writer, he was a reporter in Harare before being posted to Sapa’s Johannesburg office where he worked as chief sub-editor, financial editor and, finally, sports editor, the post from which he retired.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Mclean moved to the then Rhodesia in the late 1950s. He married his wife, Beth, in the back garden of their Johannesburg home in October 1977.
The couple went on to have five children — Craig, Brett, Laura, Duncan and Carey. All are married with families of their own.
Sapa editor Mark van der Velden said he was saddened by the news of Mclean’s death.
”He was a very pleasant guy to work with. He was also a thorough professional and could get to the heart of a story quickly and with a minimum of fuss. His writing was crisp and readable and he could whack out a story in an amazingly short period of time. The ultimate wire-agency pro … that was Bill.”
Beth Mclean said a memorial service would be held for her husband at a date and time still to be arranged by the family. He leaves his wife, five children and eight grandchildren. — Sapa