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The second-generation owner of Middletown-based Best Cleaners, William J. McCann III, died peacefully last Wednesday, the family-owned business announced.
McCann, 82, was known as an industry leader who worked to grow and streamline his business, while also helping other people.
McCann started Best Cleaners’ annual Coats for Connecticut collection, which provides free cleaning and delivery of hundreds of thousands of donated coats to needy residents.
McCann served in the Navy and honored veterans by cleaning their uniforms and their American flags for free, according to the company.
“He saw the good in everyone and made those he encountered feel capable of achieving anything,” the company said. “With a strong sense of right and wrong, incredible patience, and a habit of performing random acts of kindness long before it became a popular slogan, he touched countless lives.”
McCann was vocal in the state legislature, where he advocated for the industry.
He was a founding member and board member of Management Concepts, a national industry cost group. He also served on the board of the North East Fabricare Association.
McCann was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and was raised in East Hampton and Middletown.
He joined his family’s business in 1966, working alongside his father, William McCann Jr., his mother Esther, and brother Tim.
Once there, McCann helped “fine tune Best’s operations around same-day service” and employed “cutting-edge cleaning techniques,” the company said. He also brought on-site tailoring services to the business.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, McCann helped grow the business as it acquired land to build new locations.
In 1997, McCann bought 100% of the company and hired his son, Shawn, who has been president of Best Cleaners for the last 15 years.
Best Cleaners now has 13 locations in Berlin, Bristol, Canton, Farmington, Glastonbury, Middletown, North Haven, Old Lyme, Plainville, Rocky Hill, West Hartford and Windsor. The company has more than 100 employees.
McCann is survived by his wife, Susan, and their children Kelly (John), Jill (Michael), and Shawn (Jennifer); his sister Margaret, brothers Patrick and Charlie, and eight grandchildren. Funeral services were held Wednesday.
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The Hartford Business Journal 2025 Charity Event Guide is the annual resource publication highlighting the top charity events in 2025.
Hartford Business Journal provides the top coverage of news, trends, data, politics and personalities of the area’s business community. Get the news and information you need from the award-winning writers at HBJ. Don’t miss out - subscribe today.
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