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Death of Mr. McNear, Stouffer Dining

Stouffer Dining's Lee "Flyman" McNear, a food service worker known for his geniality to students, died of a heart attack on Tuesday, November 12 at the age of 41.

Mr. McNear-who began as a part-time, temporary worker in the Training House before he was hired for permanent duty at Stouffer Dining Commons in October 1989-was the oldest of 11 children and is survived by his mother, nine sisters, one brother, and two children. Friday, in an editorial titled "You know you can, baby doll," The Daily Pennsylvanian gave this tribute to Mr. McNear:

The spirit of Stouffer Dining Commons has disappeared with the death of Lee "Flyman" McNear.

For students who lived in the Quadrangle and Stouffer College House or frequented the dining hall, McNear was one of the few joys of eating at Stouffer besides the frozen yogurt. McNear was also many students' first experience with college dining food.

Terms of endearment such as "baby doll" and "my main man" made standing in the serving line waiting for the food bearable. And students knew when they asked if they could have some macaroni and cheese McNear would say, "You know you can."

It was McNear's personal touch in everything he did that made him popular, whether he was putting chicken wings on a plate or calling downstairs to the kitchen for another tray of shepherd's pie.With his unexpected death, future students won't experience the essence of Stouffer that was McNear.

McNear and his charm will be missed. But the Flyman will always be remembered by the students he served for the past five years.


Return to:Almanac, University of Pennsylvania, November 18 1997, Volume 44, No. 13