WWII naval radio man William Clancey, 88

In remembering their father, William J. Clancey of Farmingdale, his children had a long list of things they wanted to share.

He was a devout Roman Catholic, but did not wear his religion on his sleeve, they said. He saw combat as a naval radio man in Europe and the Pacific during World War II, but did not brag about it.

"My dad was a reader, a thinker, a storyteller, a St. John's basketball fan, a coach, a Boy Scout leader, a veteran, a salesman," said his son, Thomas Clancey of Hillsdale, N.J.

His daughter, Eileen Nolan of Summit, N.J., remembered that her father was "president of the Holy Name Society, a Little League coach, a Boy Scout leader and a good man.

Clancey was 88 when he died on Jan. 28. He was buried at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale on Feb. 1 following a funeral Mass at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale.

Clancey was born in Brooklyn, attended Boys High and enlisted in the Navy at age 19 in 1942, his family said.

He served three years aboard the destroyer USS Swanson. In a recollection he wrote in 1987 for a history of the ship, he noted German dive bombers during the invasion of Sicily, kamikaze attacks in the Pacific, and "telling off a three-star general" on board who had not turned off his cabin lights during an attack.

He recalled the many wounded troops who were treated aboard ship, including a soldier with a bullet wound in his throat who died. "I have prayed for this G.I. for the last 45 years," Clancey wrote in his recollections.

After leaving the service, he applied to the FBI but failed the eye exam. He attended St. John's University on the GI Bill and graduated in 1949 with a bachelor of science degree. He was married to Joan Healey in 1954. They moved to Farmingdale in 1960.He took a job with R-Way Furniture in Manhattan and became eastern sales manager and a vice president.

He is also survived by his wife; sons William of North Massapequa and Robert of Hauppauge; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.