Constance B. Clery

It is with broken hearts that the family of Constance Benjamin Clery announces her sudden passing on June 23, 2026, at Bryn Mawr Hospital. She was 95 years old, a devoted wife, mother, and friend whose greatest joy was the love she poured into her family and community.

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Wilfred and Jeanne Benjamin, Connie grew up surrounded by the wonders of a historic whaling port. She graduated from New Bedford High School in 1949 and earned a B.A. in Romance Languages from Barnard College in 1953. Early in her career she worked as a tri-lingual interpreter for businesses in New York and Boston.

In 1956 she married the love of her life, Howard K. Clery, Jr., beginning a partnership of 51 beautiful years until his passing in 2008. Together they raised three adored children: Howard III, Benjamin, and Jeanne. Connie was the heart of the home—the one organizing car pools to Little League games, swim meets, and tennis matches; the one planning “night skiing” adventures in the Pocono Mountains with her children and their friends. Nothing mattered more to Connie than her role as a nurturing mother and reliable friend in her community.

The tragic murder of their daughter Jeanne in 1986 tested that love beyond measure. In the years that followed, Connie and Howard channeled their grief into a tireless mission to make college campuses safer and to ensure crime victims were treated with dignity and compassion. Through the founding of Security On Campus, Inc.—now the Clery Center—they helped pass landmark laws, including the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act. Yet even as national recognition came their way, including honors from President George H.W. Bush in the White House Rose Garden, Connie’s deepest identity remained that of a loving mother who carried Jeanne’s memory with grace and spoke of her not as a symbol, but as her cherished daughter.

Her accomplishments were many—advocate, Executive Director, Chairwoman Emerita of the Clery Center, recipient of many awards—but those who knew Connie understood that her greatest legacy was the love she wrapped around her family. She taught her children by quiet example, the power of resilience, to be kind and generous. In every story shared, every hug given, every moment of laughter she protected, Connie reminded us what matters most.

She is survived by her sons Howard K. Clery III and Benjamin F. Clery and a community forever touched by her gentle strength. Connie’s spirit lives on in the cherished memories of those she nurtured, the safety of students on campuses across the country, and the quiet knowledge that a mother’s love, once given so freely, never truly leaves us.

Family and friends are invited to Connie’s Funeral Mass on Wednesday, July 1st at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas of Villanova Church- Main Campus, 800 E. Lancaster Ave, Villanova, PA 19085. Interment Calvary Cemetery, Villanova, PA.

In lieu of flowers, Connie would prefer that gifts in her memory be made to the Clery Center for Security On Campus, Inc. or to the Agnes Irwin School’s Jeanne Ann Clery Scholarship Fund.