'Larger than life': Death of Taunton's Donald Cleary 'a great loss'

TAUNTON — School Committee member Christine Fagan said the death of former Taunton Public Schools superintendent and city councilor Donald Cleary “is a great loss for us and his family.”

“This was a man who loved his family, his country and his God,” she said on Tuesday. “He was a devout Catholic. He was happy to be here and serve people. I have very fond memories of him. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He served in the military and was in it while working with the school department.”

Cleary, a lifelong Taunton resident, died on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Morton Hospital "in the caring hands of hospice nurses at Morton Hospital with his loving family by his side," his obituary said.

He graduated from Coyle High School in 1962 and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War from 1968-1969.Cleary served in the Army Reserve from 1972-1994 and received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Army Reserve Achievement medals during his military service before retiring as Lt. Colonel.

Fagan said Cleary “lived a wonderful life and was happy to be here to serve people.”

In the school department, he served as a social studies teacher, principal at Martin Middle School and superintendent, she said.

Fagan said Cleary “was a good superintendent, a wonderful family man and role model.”

His wife and daughter are both teachers, she said.

“What I remember most about him was he did everything well. It was a pleasure to know him and work with him," she said.

School Committee member Jordan Fiore said Cleary “was passionate about what he did and a leader in everything.”

“He was a kind person and a good philanthropist outside the school department,” Fiore said.

He was involved with the VFW, Taunton Lodge of Elks and the Vietnam Veterans Association, Fiore said.

Fiore said Cleary used his experience as an Army officer while serving as a social studies teacher and school superintendent.

“He had definitive ideas about command and imposed discipline when it needed to be done as an administrator,” he said.

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Cleary 'was a larger than life figure'

Cleary retired from the Taunton Public Schools in June 2005, and voters elected him to serve on the City Council in November 2005.

“Not everyone favored what he did, but I don’t know anybody who did not like him,” Fiore said.

“He was a perfect father and grandfather. He was a great athlete, and his grandchildren were good athletes, too.”

Brief stint as mayor

The City Council voted 5-4 in late November 2019 to appoint Cleary to serve as interim mayor for six weeks after former Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. resigned to serve as Bristol County register of probate.

Cleary vacated the mayoral position on Jan. 6, 2020, when Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, who was elected in November of 2019, was sworn into office.

City Councilor David Pottier said Cleary, who lost his bid for a ninth term on the City Council in 2021, was "such a larger-than-life figure.”

“He was such a good friend,” Pottier said. “I had the great pleasure of serving several terms in office with him.”

Pottier said Cleary was “a great guy and old-school politician.”

“He could fight tooth and nail with you about something, but a night later, he would drink with you like nothing happened,” Pottier said. “He fought like heck for the things he was in favor of.”

Pottier said Cleary always looked for ways “to do all he could for Taunton children and senior citizens” while serving on the City Council.

“He was a great guy all the way around,” Pottier said. “His passing is such a great loss for the community.”

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Funeral arrangements for Donald Cleary

Residents can share their grief about Cleary's passing during visiting hours from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, at the Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home, 350 Somerset Ave., Taunton.

A funeral Mass for Cleary will be held on Friday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 14 St. Mary's Square, Taunton, and his interment will be at Saint Francis Cemetery on North Walker Street in Taunton.

Cleary's family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be sent to the Donald Cleary Community Scholarship at PO Box 193, North Dighton, MA, 02764-9998.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Don Cleary dies, former Taunton schools superintendent, city councilor