Marlene Clary, a beloved teacher and the founding director of the Brooklyn Community Chorus, died this morning at Calvary Hospice at Lutheran Hospital in Sunset Park. The cause was cancer.
In 2001, Clary founded The Brooklyn Community Chorus (BCC), a group committed to including singers from diverse
backgrounds, ages, and musical experiences.
One member of the chorus writes: "Marlene was the ultimate teacher and she brought out the best in
everyone – English students, actors, singers - she pushed hard and
demanded the best, but always with tremendous love and spirit. She was
so full of love and a love for life - and fortunately, because she was
such a giving person, her life touched so many people."
Clary also touched many lives as a highly respected teacher of English literature. One former student writes:
As a former student of hers I can say that Marlene treated every
student in the same tough but loving way. In her English class, while
the work was plenty, and the level of academic output and class
participation she demanded of us was high, she showed all of us a true,
motherly sort of love. She loved and respected us, and from this we
were able to trust, love, respect, and admire her. She truly was an
amazing woman. I only wish I had had more time to learn from and grow
under the tutelage of a woman of such valor.
Clary was an actor, director, and soprano soloist, who appeared in leading
roles in summer stock, Off-Broadway and regional theaters. For many years she taught English at the Berkeley Carroll School, where she was honored with the Dexter
D. Earle Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is survived by her husband and two grown children.
A funeral service will be held on December 28th at 4 PM at Old First Dutch Reformed Church in Park Slope. .
Marlene made an impact on my life so strongly, that I believed I almost had her to myself. I know that is crazy to say, but that’s the way she made you feel. When you talked to her, when you sat with her, when you wrote to her, when you saw her, she listened and responded with such intensity and devotion, that it was hard to believe she could be invested in anyone else as much as she was with you. She once made my father cry during a parent teacher conference; sitting at her wake with him, we were reminded of the moment. Parents can understand the beauty of their child, they know the remarkable human that exists within any particular son or daughter, they can feel that unconditional love. But having someone else express that, having someone else see that “specialness” that sometimes only parents can see, is so reassuring, so amazing, such a reward. Marlene gave that to my father and mother, and she gave me the boost of confidence that every adolescent needs from someone beyond mom and dad. Marlene was captivating. She was emotional, intense, unique, and all around incredible. I will miss her forever, and remember her always.
This is Ethan, Marlene’s son. I just wanted to say thank you for this remarkable tribute and to everyone who has commented and given me and my family support over the past weeks and months. She was great mother as well as teacher and we will miss her greatly, but really appreciate the outpouring of support from the community. Thanks again.
CAP was amazing, and it was a pleasure and an honor to be a student and then work with her for many years.
Marlene was truly one of the best teachers I experienced. She had a way of encouraging her students to do more, be better than they ever thought they could be. She was really quite special and she will be missed.
Marlene was a teacher, an actress, a director, the list goes on and on. But she was also a mother. While Marlene was not my mother, not by birth at least, she mothered all of us, her students, friends, colleagues, her family. As a former student of hers I can say that Marlene treated every student in the same tough but loving way. In her English class, while the work was plenty, and the level of academic output and class participation she demanded of us was high, she showed all of us a true, motherly sort of love. She loved and respected us, and from this we were able to trust, love, respect, and admire her. She truly was an amazing woman. I only wish I had had more time to learn from and grow under the tutelage of a woman of such valor.
Having Marlene as a teacher was the greatest gift I’ve experienced. I always admired her confidence, her smile when she knew I was deeply contemplating on her wise comments. Marlene Clary was a beautiful person, with such great wisdom. I clearly remember her words of wisdom when she urged me to forget about my insecurities and declare myself as a strong individual. She was an amazing role model for everyone, I love Marlene and your strength has left me a mark I will never forget.
What a sad loss to all of us who knew Marlene, however briefly, and to all those kids whose lives she touched and enriched at CAP…she had a wonderful, joyous and welcoming energy, and we were all lucky to know her. She will be missed, and undoubtedly remembered with warmth and joy by those who encountered her on one of her various paths.
I worked with her for 4 years as a CIT she was very helpful. wow so sad
Marlene, whom I did not know well,was by far one of the most intelligent, gifted and noble teachers I have ever encountered (in fifteen years of teaching and fifteen years of being a mom). My children attended Creative Arts Camp at Berkeley Carroll. She brought a rare (It was shocking to us at the time! So unaccustomed were we to such an enlightened view of the special needs student!) degree of honor, insight and art to the way she worked with my son Jack and me. She used the gift of her life so well! I am heartbroken as I type this but I had to write to say how lucky my son and I were to experience her.