Darren McLaughlin

Darren McLaughlin, beloved husband, brother, and son, entered the eternal universe on June 16, 2025. Born on February 28, 1966, to Thomas and Coletta (Lally) McLaughlin in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a bright light in a big city.

With an entrepreneurial sprit from a young age, he began his life in business as a carrier for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Rain, snow, sleet, or sunshine, he was always up early and committed to delivering the news to all on his routes, even achieving Super Carrier status as an adult carrier. Ignatius Men Forever, he was a 1983 graduate of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio.

His interests included computers, technology, the internet, and business. He operated multiple companies, including a computed business and a dial-up internet service that connected thousands of Cleveland area customers to the internet at a time when 56K connections and AOL created hours-long busy signals on traditional landlines. He built the network by hand with used Postmasters, configuring everything himself, taking advantage of the new opportunities, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 offered.

It was a poetic coincidence of his work as a newspaper carrier and his love for technology that he used his network to meet his partner of 24 years and soulmate at the Cleveland.com chatroom, a Plain Dealer digital property. Despite living over 1000 miles away, they met in person on inauguration day, January 20, 2001, and married on June 6, 2003, in Las Vegas. They celebrated 22 years of marriage 10 days before his passing.

Sunny days were his favorite.

Left to cherish his memory, and at his side when he passed peacefully, were his wife Heather and his sister Mary-Beth. He also leaves behind his four-legged children, Garty and Boogie, along with numerous nieces and nephews, and in-laws.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Jim Matthews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and at companions Baby, Merlin, Cubie, Fagan, Bridgid, and Paige.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Donations can be made to Love-a-Stray Cat Division in Avon Lake, Ohio, or the donor’s choice.

“Ill see you when i see you. Until then, Je T’aime Meman. My D3M.”