Portrait of Vincent "Vince" Clement McCann
VETERAN

Vincent "Vince" Clement McCann

June 3, 1935 – May 14, 2024
Lived 88 years
St. Vincent dePaul Cemetery · Osseo, Minnesota
"Nothing is ever good enough. It's either good, or it's not." — Vince
In service to country

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Vincent served in the armed forces. We honor that service here.

Life story

Vincent Clement McCann, 88, of Maple Grove, MN, passed away on May 14, 2024. Beloved husband of Diane -married 65 years — and loving father of four children: daughters Joyce and Ellie; sons Jeff and Ron.

Vince first saw Diane at her choir concert at St. Michael Catholic High School. Vince soon after left for Col­orado for his two years of service in the Army. It was during this time that Vince wrote to Diane daily, signing his letters "T.C.T.S.A." (too cute to sleep alone). They were engaged when he returned home in June of 1955 and were married Oct. 26, 1955. In all their years together, each card Vince gave to Diane for various occasions was always signed "Lucky." Vince would often show up with bouquets of flowers for Mom often gathered from a local field or sourced from other interesting places around town.

Together Vince and Diane lived an active life and had a wide range of interests they enjoyed together. They both loved music and dancing, which led them to attend local dances flowing across the floor like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. A highlight for them was polka dancing at the state capitol. They took up golf once the kids were old enough to stay home alone and belonged to many golf and bowling leagues in the different communities where they lived. Vince was a golf course superin­tendent which allowed them to travel the country on wonderful trips where they played on a variety of courses and met all kinds of interesting people.

The joy of travel near and far was such a central theme. Camping with family took on the best of the best in local travel, combining all the things Vince and Diane loved: family, bonfires, weenie roasts, and just being present in nature with the ones you love.

Golf was Vince's passion. At the age 82 he shot his age! After Vince's heart attack and stroke in June, 2019 his biggest concern was if he would golf again. With his hard work and determina­tion he did return to the golf course many times and enjoyed using the simulator during the winter months.

Vince wore many hats during his career. He once owned a Ward's store, was a superintendent at the Purple Hawk golf course in Cambridge, MN, a realtor in Hot Springs, AR, a golf course superintendent in Bella Vista, AR, and even cleaned taps during his retirement at local pubs around Daytona, MN, up to the age of 83. These are just a few examples to highlight the wide range of skills and expertise he possessed.

Vince had an engineer's mind and enjoyed tinkering, build­ing, and solving puzzles. When there was a challenge or task at hand, he would find innovative solutions and was persistent in finding a way. He built a camper, hand-sewed heavy canvas tents. The kids knew when they saw Dad's truck home early on a Friday afternoon that they were going camping that weekend. He built an ice fishing house on an old sailboat trailer for easy on/off ice access. Vince loved gardening, successfully keeping red geraniums over the winter months.

Vince had a quiet but strong faith throughout his life. He was heavily involved in the church, was an usher, often took part in the readings, distributed communion, and continued bible study up to his final days. He didn't force his beliefs but instead led by example and was open minded and accepting of others.

Vince is predeceased by wife Diane, brother Jerry and sister Rita (Jim Lefebvre).

He is survived by his children Joyce (Martin) Sager, Jeffery (Cathy) McCann, Ronald (Rita) McCann, Ellie McCann; grandchil­dren Emily, Kahle, Marie, Stephanie, Amy, Andrew, Jacob, Katie M., Katie W., Zach and nine great grandchildren: Logan, Conor, Hayden, Finley, Millie, Savannah, Artie, Sienna and Ayla .. Siblings Jim (Karen), Jan (Tom) Grinnell, Bill (Pat) McCann, Pat (Doug) Lewis, SIL Carol, and many nieces and nephews.

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The world Vincent knew

Family milestones in gold, history for context

1935
Born June 3
1939
Vincent was 4 when World War II began in Europe
1945
Vincent was 10 when World War II ended
1959
Vincent was 24 when Barbie made her debut
1962
Vincent was 27 when the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war
1976
Vincent was 41 when America celebrated its Bicentennial
1989
Vincent was 54 when "The Simpsons" debuted as a series
1994
Vincent was 59 when "Friends" premiered
2001
Vincent was 66 when Apple introduced the iPod
2014
Vincent was 79 when the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral
2022
Vincent was 87 when Queen Elizabeth II died after 70 years on the throne
2024
Passed away May 14, age 88
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Vince McCann 36w

Thanks to my dad because he ‘gets it’

I wrote this editorial about Dad that was printed in the Fargo Forum on Father’s Day, 2007. The picture is of Dad reading the article that Father’s Day morning. - Ellie

Photo shared by Vince McCann Photo shared by Vince McCann Photo shared by Vince McCann
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Vince McCann 36w

City Clerk

He was the city clerk for I think 10 years which meant we always had some parking meters in our basement he was fixing. 🤓 - Joyce

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