“Big” Jim MacLellan, one of the last surviving founding members of the Men of the Deeps, has died. The Cape Breton men’s chorus, which is made of former coal miners, says MacLellan passed away Friday night at the age of 92. “Within our brotherhood, Jim was a calming presence. He carried a lifetime of stories, memories, and deep respect for the mining culture and history that brought us all together. He knew where we came from, and he never let us forget it,” the group said in a post on Facebook. MacLellan retired from the choir in 2025 but still attended performances this past summer at the Miners Museum in Glace Bay. “In fact, his last performance was just this past September, when he sat for ten minutes and cracked off joke after joke, never missing a beat. At 92, the rest of us can only hope to be half as sharp as Big Jim,” the post adds. The Men of the Deeps gathered Sunday night for their 60th anniversary gala at the Savoy Theatre and dedicated their performance to MacLellan. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
