Gerald E. Clancy

GERALD “JERRY” E. CLANCY, 72, of South Kingstown, passed peacefully at home Friday morning, March 27, 2015, after a courageous battle with ALS. He was the beloved husband of Elizabeth “Billie” Connors for 20 years. Besides his wife, he leaves his son Christopher E. Clancy and his wife Cheryl of Richmond, RI and step-children Michael J Connors and his husband Michael E Lerner of Cleveland Heights, OH, Christine M. Connors of Providence, RI and Richard M Connors and his wife Kristina of Avon, MA. He also leaves his cherished granddaughter Abigail Rose Clancy and his loving step-granddaughter Samantha E. Connors. Visiting hours will be held from 5:00-8:00 pm on Tuesday, March 31, with a funeral ceremony Wednesday, April 1 at 9:30 am in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Home & Hospice Care of Southern RI, 143 Main Street, Wakefield, RI 02879, would be appreciated. Jerry Clancy graduated from LaSalle Academy and attended the University of Rhode Island. He worked for the State of Rhode Island for 32 years within the Department of Mental Health Retardation and Hospitals (MHRH). In his early years with the State he was heavily involved with AFSCME, Local 1293 and later Vice President of the union. He and his friend Dan Martin were key leaders in keeping union jobs for Ladd School workers as the state attempted to privatize services to the residents of Ladd. Jerry and Dan worked tirelessly to better living conditions for both the residents and employees of Ladd Center. They were instrumental in achieving the goal of having Ladd School residents moved to group homes throughout the state. In the last several years of his career, Jerry was the Director of Rhode Island Community Living and Supports (RICLAS) and oversaw the operation of all of the state group homes. In January 1995 Jerry Clancy married Billie Connors. They had a wonderful 20 years together enjoying each other and their blended family, Christopher Clancy, and Michael, Christine and Richard Connors, as well as granddaughters Abigail Rose Clancy and Samantha Elizabeth Connors. Jerry and Billie enjoyed twice yearly trips to Ogunquit, Maine, as well as several trips to Aruba and Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Jerry was a kind and generous soul who will be greatly missed by his family and friends. God speed my love. Hello Family & Friends- Yesterday morning, Friday March 27th, my Dad passed away peacefully in his sleep at home. His body had given out long ago; his spirit more recently. He didn’t have any fight left in him… When the phone call came at 6:36 am, I knew the news on the other end was bad… Billie just said, “He’s gone”. Dad was officially diagnosed with ALS less than a year ago-a week before his 72nd birthday, which was May 11, 2014. At Christmas a few months earlier, he appeared healthy, but then without any recognizable reason or warning, his health started a steep and serious decline. With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the doctors basically diagnose the fatal disease by ruling everything else out. Weeks and weeks of endless tests searching for answers… finally no more tests… the answer was Lou Gehrig’s disease… on the day he told Cheryl & I, he half-joked that it would be a Yankee who killed him in the end… His sarcastic wit even shined in the face of death. For those who don’t know exactly what ALS is (I had little idea before my endless hours of research), here is a brief description: for a completely unknown reason, this fatal disease causes the neurons, which are the “information highway” connecting the brain to the muscles, to completely break down and disappear. This causes the loss of the ability to control voluntary muscles, which ultimately results in paralysis. There is no cure and treatment is minimal. From my first-hand perspective, I saw the up-close reality of my Dad living with ALS. At first, week-by-week then day-by-day, his ability to do things was taken away from him. He lost weight quickly. He struggled more and more to get deep breaths of air. He lost his independence. There was never any reprieve-his path progressed painfully quickly downhill. The last few weeks were especially heart breaking. Fortunately, he was able to walk and talk until the end. He was lucky to avoid the last phase of paralysis. Looking back on the last year now, today, less than 24 hours after my Dad is gone, the reality of what he had to go through is becoming more and more clear. At the time, the real truth of the situation was clouded by my own emotional hurt in dealing with his impending death. Now that he is gone, I am beginning to fully grasp just how much he suffered. Months of constant pain, dizziness, lack of energy and strength, all caused by an extremely rare disease for which there are no answers. By the end, his quality of life was minimal, but he hung in there a little extra time for us. But yesterday, he was ready to go off into the sunset… Knowing that his suffering is over makes his death just a little bit easier… He knew he had to move on; enough was enough-he just couldn’t live that way anymore. My Dad and I had a saying between us these last few months-“No Regrets”. Unlike many fathers and sons, we didn’t have to scramble to make up for lost time. We were lucky enough to have a close relationship throughout my entire life. For that, I am most grateful. Don’t be afraid to let your parents know how much you love them. Rest in Peace Dad. I Love You.