Those who knew Dennis McClenahan knew that it was “his way or no way.” Behind his rough exterior, however, was a dedicated, reliable, hard worker who was really “soft on the inside.”.
That is how McClenahan is being recalled by his colleagues and friends from the Princeton Junction Fire Company, where he was a member for 37 years, serving some of those years as a lieutenant.
McClenahan, 54, collapsed and died from a heart attack on December 27, shortly after returning from a routine call — a minor alarm at Nassau Park Pavilion mall.
McClenahan, who drove the truck when responding to calls and served as the pump operator for the past 15 years, was good at it, says Captain John Kapp, who grew up with McClenahan.
Kapp recalls his teenage years: “I got to ride in his hot rod. That was cool. That was in the early ‘70s, a while before this town grew up to what it is today.”
In fact, McClenahan, a mechanic, loved cars and working on them. Kapp recalls one of McClenahan’s favorites was his Oldsmobile 442. Still, “he didn’t care what he got into — whether it be a little car or big car, pickup truck, or old farm wagon,” Kapp says. “He would enjoy jumping on the tractor or a bull dozer or something like that and figuring out how to drive something.”
“He just put in a garage on his house, and he was going to put a lift in so when he retired, he would be able to tinker with cars,” added Princeton Junction Fire Chief Dennis Huber.
And McClenahan was good at driving, too, never getting into an accident with the fire truck, says Kapp, even though sometimes “you could be coming back from the call faster than you went there,” Kapp joked.
Kapp knew McClenahan since he was 16, when he first joined the department. Kapp also worked at the former Getty gas station on the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road. Later, McClenahan moved on to selling Mac Tools before being hired by the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District in the maintenance department, where Kapp, the foreman, was his boss. McClenahan worked with the school district for the past 12 years.
“Sometimes we had a lot of good laughs, and not-so-good calls, but we got to spend a lot of time together,” he said. “He was a hard worker. I think that’s something most people would say.” If he was not at one job, he would be off on a second, part-time job, just doing something.
But “as far as the fire company, he understood the meaning of volunteerism. He enjoyed the camaraderie, even though at times he could be a little hard, but we all can,” Kapp laughed. “He had a lot of dedication. To be here for 37 years, you had to. You had to deal with a lot of ups and downs.”
“If something came up at work, and you really, really needed him to stay and do something, he would be willing to do that,” Kapp said.
Kapp recalled an incident in which McClenahan worked for more than 24 hours straight. “I told him, ‘You’re going to crash — are you sure you’re alright?’ He went almost 36 hours without sleeping,” said Kapp. “It was a combination of such bad winter conditions and between salting, plowing, and equipment that needed repair. He was a mechanic so he did all our repairs.”
Huber said McClenahan could be counted on to be around when he was needed. At the firehouse, he was the head of the decoration committee, and would be in charge of decorating for the holidays. Similarly, he expended a lot of effort into decorating his own house on Post Road. “Every year, the whole front yard would be lit up,” says Huber.
Huber recalled McClenahan’s “my home, my rules” and “my way or no way” mentality. “That was Denny,” said Huber. “If he had it in his mind to do it a certain way, nothing you told him was going to change it unless he did it and found it didn’t work — but he would try it first. He was usually pretty right about everything when he came up with something.”
McClenahan also started a junior scholarship program at the station. “It was his idea that the scholarship was given to junior members still in high school who were going away to college and coming back in the summer to help at the station,” said Huber.
Huber recalled McClenahan’s sense of humor, in that he would send text messages with jokes to a bunch of the firefighters at the station. Kapp also said that McClenahan usually preferred to be the one laughing at others, and not be laughed at himself.
Still, Kapp recalled McClenahan’s softer side — McClenahan’s interests also included his at-home aquarium. He took his family camping when his kids were younger, and he liked to go on cruises with his family, and Kapp said he had heard McClenahan talking about wanting to take a cruise to Alaska.
“I know he really cared for his kids,” said Kapp. He said McClenahan was always concerned that his children got the best education and took the right paths in life. Familial matters were a high priority for him, “sometimes more than he let on,” said Kapp.
He watched his eldest daughter, Sandy, get married in April, and although Kapp said preparations for the wedding were challenging, the wedding turned out wonderfully.
Survivors include his wife, Cathy A. McClenahan, of Princeton Junction; two daughters and a son-in-law, Sandy and William Gancarcik of Sparta, and Cindy McClenahan, who resides at home; his father, Stanley E. McClenahan of Princeton Junction; two brothers and sisters-in-law, William and Susan McClenahan of Medford, and Jeffrey and Eileen McClenahan of Middletown; and two sisters and a brother-in-law, Darlene Marzario of Bensalem, Pa., and Linda and Daniel Beecher of Ringwood.
The funeral was held at the Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Company on December 31, followed by burial in Dutch Neck Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Company, 245 Clarksville Road, Princeton Junction 08550.
