Arlene LeCardi Clair

Teacher, Mother, Nana, Wife, Aunt, and Best Friend May 22nd, 1938 to March 22nd, 2022 Arlene LeCardi Clair passed away peacefully on March 22nd, 2022 at the age of 83. Born in 1938 at St. Vincent's Hospital to Celestine LeCardi and Elizabeth SanNicola, she grew up in Concord, Staten Island and attended New Dorp High School. She always told tales of her childhood and of the wide-open spaces and horse farms that Concord once was. She worked in Manhattan as a secretary for AT&T and later at a bank, marrying Kenneth Francis Clair, Sr, also from Concord, in 1961. They remained dedicated to one another for 58 years until his death. A woman of great resolve and determination, she put herself through school earning a Bachelors of Science in Education through Wagner College, finishing her final semester while pregnant with her first child. She taught the 5th grade at PS 18 in Staten Island for 1 years before leaving the profession to become a full time mother. She settled in Westerleigh to raise a family. Arlene loved to sew, play the piano, walk at the beach and park, cook, and travel with her husband. They visited Bermuda, Italy, France, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and many US East Coast destinations. A stalwart seafood fan, eventually converting her husband into one, she could be found in the kitchen preparing seafood dishes or traveling to restaurants for the lobster special. She was also an avid reader and loved the theatre, concerts, and museums. Arlene cherished being a mother and spending time with her three sons. From summer vacations to Ocean City, MD, to spontaneous trips to the zoo and beach, to teaching her kids to ice skate at Martling's Pond, to going to her children's sporting events to cheer them on, she was a positive force in their lives. Whether waiting on the bus stop in the dead of winter for their school bus, or volunteering to chaperone class field trips, to watching over neighborhood kids in the pool with her sons, or having a beer with them in their adulthood, Arlene taught her three boys to learn, live and love life to the fullest while being respectful and kind to others. As a Nana, she attended her granddaughter's events with pride and cherished the time she had with her. Her smile, laughter, and sense of humor was infectious; her generosity of spirit undeniable. Arlene was so giving of herself to those she loved that she was in a class by herself and the world was a brighter place with her in it. She was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth in 2019 and by her brother and sisters. Arlene is survived by her sons, Kenneth, Jr., David, and Steven as well as her granddaughter, Violet, and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Monday March 28th, 2022 from 2pm-4pm and 7pm-9pm at Harmon Funeral Home 571 Forest Avenue 10310. Funeral mass will be held Tuesday March 29th, 2022 at Holy Family RC Church 366 Watchogue Road 10314. Interment to follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Middletown, NJ.