CHELMSFORD – John P. Clancy, Sr., 84, of Chelmsford, died August 27, 2016, having been surrounded by the love of his family.

He leaves behind his devoted and adored wife, Elena (Donato) with whom he would have celebrated 60 years of marriage on September 15th, and their eight children – Jack and his wife Ann of Chelmsford, Bob of North Chelmsford, Carolyn of Needham, Paul and his wife Ellen of Andover, Ted and his wife Mary of Framingham, Diane Taylor and her husband Mark of Chelmsford, Mary Fiorentino and her husband Gabe of Winchester, and Kathy Colecchi and her husband Chris of Andover. He was also the proud grandfather of 19: Jennifer and her husband Brian Petro-Roy, Sean, Michael Joseph, Megan, Colin, Cameron, Connor, Caitlin, Dillon, John, Julie, Michael Patrick, Clancy, Ryan, Tony, Tia, Ben, Talia, and Joe; and the great-grandfather to Ellie and Lucy. He is also survived by his sister, Mary O’Dea of Andover, and many nieces and nephews including Jack, Jim, and Arthur Morrissey.

He was the son of the late John and Katherine (O’Connell) Clancy of Brighton and was preceded by his brothers Marty and Tommy, and his in-laws Jo and Art Morrissey.

Johnny grew up in his beloved Brighton, the son of immigrants from Galway, Ireland. He enjoyed and excelled at all sports and attended St. Columbkille’s High School. He was a member of the Boston College Class of 1956, where he received the Intramural Sports award. After graduation, he married Ellie Donato, whom he met on a blind date and took ballroom dancing. Later he was drafted into the Army, and the couple moved to Colorado Springs, where Johnny was stationed at Fort Carson. Upon returning to New England, they settled in Chelmsford, where they raised their eight children. He is known to many in town whom he coached in baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, and other sports, and he was honored on Father’s Day of 2003 by having a batting cage at the Little League Fields named after him.

Johnny led by example, making most important in life his love of God, family, and community. The consummate BC Irishman, he enjoyed talking with everyone, especially about Brighton; he always saw the very best in others; and he was always the first to help when an individual or an organization was in need – whether it was running fundraisers, lecturing and teaching CCD at St. Mary’s Church, where he worshipped for 56 years, bringing communion to homebound parishioners, or organizing the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest. On top of his volunteer efforts and his full-time job as a Human Resources professional, he made the time to earn his MBA at Rivier College and subsequently teach there, as education was always paramount to him. He eventually retired as the Vice President of HR at Ingersoll-Rand in Nashua after 30 years of service.

After retirement, when he and Ellie weren’t hopping from school to field to rink to recital hall watching his grandkids’ events, sporting contests, and plays, he was a tireless advocate for seniors. He volunteered for SHINE (Serving the Health Insurance Needs of the Elderly) where he counseled seniors on how to get the best medical insurance.

His proudest accomplishment and pastime was his family. He also loved all sports (especially watching Boston teams!), Irish music, his wife’s Italian cooking, Hampton Beach and Dairy Queen, Cape Cod, mystery novels, crossword puzzles, yard work, cribbage, orange sherbet, and he was always the first one in the water at the beach.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday evening from 4 until 8 PM in the Blake Funeral Home, 24 Worthen Street, Chelmsford.

His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday morning at 11 AM in St. Mary Church, 25 North Road, Chelmsford.

PLEASE MEET AT CHURCH.

Interment will follow in Pine Ridge Cemetery, Chelmsford.

In loving memory of John, memorial donations may be made to McLean Hospital's Alzheimer's research program online at givemclean.partners.org or by check mailed to: McLean Hospital, c/o Development, 115 Mill Street, mail stop 126, Belmont, MA 02478.

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