Her parents, John E. and Beulah F. (Greenword) Deegan, welcomed their daughter into the world on June 1, 1936 in Jamaica, New York. Sylvia grew up in Douglaston, Long Island, NY, and was a graduate of Bayside High School and received the Ford Foundation Scholarship to attend Goucher College in Towson, MD.
In 1959, Sylvia began her long career with the Peerless Insurance Company in Keene, first in data entry and later for many years as an insurance underwriter, remaining with the company until their closing.
Sylvia loved to read, and enjoyed sewing, knitting and quilting. Her favorite memories were created vacationing in Maine at Wells Beach; relaxing on Crystal Lake in Barton, VT with her sister-in-law, Lorraine and her husband Richard Alexander; as well as many trips to Hawaii.
She was a longtime parishioner of St. Charles Church in Bellows Falls, VT.
Sylvia is survived by a sister, Louise Smith of St. Louis, MO; her two nieces, Pamela Smith Kuschwara and her husband, Kenneth, of Royersford, PA, Angela Smith of Hazelwood, MO; and many other nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and extended family members. Her husband of 61 years, Raymond F. McClary, predeceased her on September 28, 2018. She is also predeceased by a brother-in-law, David Smith, and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Carolyn and Ralph Stoddard, and Lorraine and Richard Alexander.
A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Monday, August 16, 2021 at 11:00am in St. Charles Church, 31 Cherry Street, Bellows Falls, VT. Burial will follow in the St. Charles Cemetery, Cemetery Road, Westminster, VT. Family and friends are invited to call on Sunday afternoon, August 15th from 2:00 to 4:00pm in the Foley Funeral Home, 49 Court Street, Keene.
In lieu of flowers, for those who wish, donations may be made in Mrs. McClary’s memory to St. Charles Church, 31 Cherry Street, Bellows Falls, VT 05101; or to The Community Kitchen PO Box 1315, Keene, NH 03431; or to the NH Food Bank, 700 East Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, NH 03109; or to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Road, West Swanzey, NH 03446.
