Robert Louis Clarey

UPDATE: A memorial for Bob will he held at 11 am on Friday, April 29 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in High Point, NC, with a repast to follow.

Robert Louis Clarey was born on Nov. 18, 1942, technically a war baby, in Albany, NY to Marvin Clarey, then an MP in the US Army, and Mary Rose Theresa Clarey, who destroyed her birth certificate shortly after Bob was born so as to obscure her actual age, which no one knew.

Bob survived a Catholic-school upbringing and lived at home during his undergraduate years at Siena College. He got his law degree from Villanova University and then married the former Barbara Jane Pagano after meeting her on a blind date.

While on a stint with the US Navy as an officer in the JAG Corps, stationed near Virginia Beach, the first two of three children were born; the third came on Garden City, NY, on Long Island, where the family made their home for many years. Later, he would serve in the New York State Guard.

After the Navy, Bob's legal career wended through the Eastern District of New York in the US Attorney's Office, the commercial-fraud desk at the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and years of private practice defending the accused against those same institutions. He gave decades of service to the Garden City Zoning Board and the Eastern Property Owners' Association. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association until he retired, and was a 38-year member of the Atlantic Beach Club, his most favorite place on Earth.

In retirement, he moved to North Carolina to be closer to family.

In his time, Bob coached youth sports, gave sage barroom advice, spent countless hours swimming in the ocean and playing tennis in the summer sun, and used the public restroom almost everywhere he went.

He liked talking to his cats, eating Cheerios every single morning and doing the crossword puzzle in the New York Times every Sunday. He loved his family. He loved his God. And he loved to laugh.

He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 54 years; his children Ellen, Brian and Carolyn; daughter in-law Jill; grandchildren Beckett, Donovan and Rosaleen; and two small cats named Buttercup and Octavia.

Services will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Jude’s Hospital at stjude.org.