Name: Cusimano & Russo Funeral Home
Address: Brooklyn, NY

I met Harry when we worked at Legal Aid in NYC....we had a similar sense of humor and had plenty of laughs....I knew his wife then, the late Barbara Blazier, a sweet person...Harry and I went to Yankee Stadium once, we sat in the bleachers and he caught Ken Griffey Sr.’s home run ball...when Harry passed the bar we seemed to not see each other as much and we lost contact..I came across this site last week while looking up Harry’s name on a whim...I am sorry he’s gone and more sorry that we missed out on more laughs....easy journey.

I sadly just found out from classmates that attended Xavier Beefsteak Dinner last night that Mr. Gaffney passed away a while back.  I wasn’t his classmate.  He was my Senior Year Economics teacher at Xavier. He left such a lasting impression on me and whom I was quite fond of.  He opened my eyes to the business world, told great stories about life, excellent advice  and I appreciated how this came from a Gent that graduated from Xavier and was a successful attorney.  What a fantastic and kind/cool human being he was. I’m saddened that I didn’t know him after Xavier. May God Bless his soul and Bless  his family. Frank Arlia ‘88

Harry and I were classmates at Xavier H.S. We became acquainted through Xavier's science honors program and 2b homeroom but we weren't close friends. I remember Harry's intelligence, dry sense of humor, and understated way about things. I can almost hear his voice after 40 years. Condolences to his family and friends. 

I only learned of the passing of my friend Harry this week.  I was the best man in his marriage to Barbara Blazier.  He was a good friend, a good teacher, a  devoted father and an all-around fine man.  

Our paths went in different directions  and I lost track of him through the years. It will always be a great regret in my life.  Harry was very free with his words- and we never parted that he didn't take the opportunity to say "I love you buddy....take care of yourself."  It is with profound sadness that I say the same to him now.  "I love you buddy- may your soul rest in peace.

Jim Fox  
(New York City)

I am just finding out about this awful news that Harry has passed away. He was a best friend to me during his years with his first wife, my best girlfriend Barbara Blazier with whom we worked as lawyers at Time Equities, and he was a fine colleague as well as friend.  I'm so in shock. I knew Brendan when you was born during those difficult years of losing Barbara, your birth mother, a wondrous person in her own right - and now what can I say but that I am in shock, in shock and bereft. It's January 2017 and I am just finding out this news, I looked him up hoping to send him a new year's greeting - can someone from the family please be in touch with me? I can only imagine your own depth of loss, my deepest condolences to wife and boys and rest of family. With great fondness, sadness, and love, Diane
DIANE E UNGAR, deu624@aol.com, 10 Plaza St East, 8A, Brooklyn, NY 11238.  917-576-7880

I can't believe Harry passed away... I'm just finding out now.  Harry was such an awesome guy; gentle, genuine, funny, sincere.  I met him at a real estate closing.  It was the best closing I ever went to - Harry was so funny and real - kept the conversations going.  I decided I wanted him to do my closing some years later which he did.  He was so good... May God bless the family  of Harry - I'm so sorry for your loss.

I cant believe it. I thought of him when I needed a real estate lawyer. He was really wonderful to me when I had to go through messy estate of my late father in 7 years ago. He was funny and friendly, which is uncommon for lawyers. Now, my family has a real estate issue, and I googled to look for him. I was shocked to see that he had passed away. So hard to believe it. I am so so sorry for your loss. You are really blessed to have such a wonderful gentleman in your family. May G-d bless his soul. Allon

I just heard this news. I am so so sorry for your loss.  He was a bright spirit at 412 Munro and he will be missed.

My condolences to Harry's family. Harry and I were best friends at Xavier High School starting in 1968. I was very saddened to learn of his passing. We will always remember his sense of humor and ability to make those around him laugh. All good memories. All too brief. There really are no words to express the sorrow.

My condolences to Harry's family. I worked with him briefly, but enjoyed getting to know him. He was kind and seemed to have a gentle way about him. I am very sorry for your loss.

Dear Silvia, Brendan, Emmet, Davide, Enrico and other family members, 
Please accept our deepest condolences on the loss of Harry. He was always a bright light at St. Thomas Church--a sweet, friendly, sensitive man and obviously such a good and loving father.
You'll remain in our thoughts and prayers during this very sad time,
The Evanses: Sheldon, Shelley, Jim, Tom, John and Karen, Christopher (friend of Brendan and Emmet at Incarnation Camp) and family

Dear Sylvia and Enrico,  Our deepest sympathies in this difficult time.  Our prayers are with you.
Ariel, Joan and Dan Belen

I never met Harry, but I got to know him through family members. My condolences go out to his loving wife Silvia and all who knew and loved him.  

I am prompted to share these thoughts.  "Grief is rooted in love, and that love doesn't die with the deceased.  For the one grieving, no matter the relationship, the loss is never forgotten.  With time, the sadness will thin from a suffocating deluge to a gentle mist that moistens but no longer threatens drowning.  It may at times seem imperceptible, but it never evaporates completely."  Harry Gaffney, gone but never forgotten.

Harry was a wonderful human being.  Warm, wise, very funny with very few words needed.  He seemed to see the heart of things with great clarity, and had great charity in his heart for everyone.   He was a rare man, and a good one. I cherish many memories of Harry, all of them good ones.  
John Coogan, Georgetown classmate

I got to know Harry through Zip at school (Georgetown University); and always saw Harry through the Zip perspective of relentless pragmatism, except when it came to friends, when it all became about caring and support. Decades later we were his neighbor in New Rochelle, one town over from his home in Mamaroneck. I would occasionally run into Harry, often on the train or in Harbor Park, and it was always a happy reunion that ended with the mutual resolve to get together, deliberately, rather than by happenstance.  But we never did.  Harry was busy with his kids and I with mine, and we must have figured that it was enough just knowing that the other was nearby. It's an unfortunate but familiar story.

Harry always brought me down to earth, made me focus on what was meaningful, and second guess any energy not directed there. It was like he could see through me and understand where I was dissipating myself on the meaningless stuff.  He had this effect with very few words, or maybe just a look, and I was never sure if it was intentional, or if I was just reading it into his subdued style.  Nevertheless, I always parted company with Harry resolving to do a little better figuring out how to be more genuine, maybe that was something that I saw in him to aspire to.

Jim King - Georgetown Classmate of Harry and Georgetown Crew teammate of Zip

Zip,

Very sorry to hear about Harry - a straightforward, unadorned good guy - to parrot Ed (Wehmer), I lose touch with almost everyone (or perhaps the reverse is true?), but I remember Harry very fondly for that quality.

John Kiyonaga - Georgetown Classmate of Harry

Harry and I would crack each other up  quoting W.C. Field's movies at Xavier. I've thought of his sense of humor and kindness many times through the years. My deepest sympathy.
Michael O'Brien, X '72

Le mie più' profonde condoglianze.Harry era un uomo meraviglioso pieno di vita e di gioia.Amato e stimato dalla famiglia e amici.Ho avuto la fortuna di conoscerlo tramite la mia cara amica Silvia.Purtroppo la sua vita e' stata tolta troppo presto,ma sono sicura che dovunque lui sia e gia' amato e rispettato come lo era qui'. Rimarra' sempre vivo nei cuori di tutti coloro che lo amavano.  R.I.P Harry

So sorry to hear of Harry's passing. I was very lucky to have worked with him for a good ten years. He was a very caring, funny, hard-working person. Always laughing and making everyone around him laugh too. He will be truly missed. May he rest in peace.

I am deeply saddened to hear of Harry's passing. I had the great pleasure of working with him for years while he was an attorney for William Gottlieb. He was truly a wonderful man and so proud of his family. My heart goes out to his family. He was one of the best! 

Jeff Ackerly Rhinebeck,NY

I worked with Harry at two different periods,  at the NYC Loft Board, and later at the firm then known as Hanley, Goble & Dennis.  Harry was one of my most loved co workers of all time.  He was really a good, kind person,  and often ready with a joke or happy thought when needed.  He was really smart at the  kind of real estate work we did at that time, but much more,  he was wise. He was also a devoted family guy.   I am so sorry not to have crossed paths with him much recently.  My most sincere condolences to his family.

Very Sorry to hear of this Sad News. My Sincere Condolences to Silvia, Brendon and Emmett, He Spoke constantly of all of you. RIP.

My condolences to Harry's family for their loss.  Harry was a dear man with a big heart.   Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: It is not length of life, but depth of life. Harry had great depth. He will be missed.  May his memory be a blessing.

Our heartfelt condolences to Silvia, Brendan and Emmet and all of us who had the privilege of knowing this fine and noble human being who only had the very best in his heart for others.  The world is poorer for his absence.  Jon Phillips & Ginnie Gardiner

I had the pleasure and honor of working with Harry at Eisenberg and Baum.  Every day that I saw Harry no matter what was going on, he always made my every morning and day pleasurable with his quick wit and jokes. We used to call it the Harry Comedy Hour. I am truly sorry for your loss. I'm praying for your family that you would find comfort during this time. Harry will always be remembered  as a dear colleague and most of all a wonderful friend! 
Sincerely and with condolescences, Barbara Friedman

So sorry for your loss. I knew Harry through our St. Thomas family. He was a gentle & friendly soul who will be missed by many. May he rest in peace & rise in glory.

My sincere condolences to Harry's family and loved ones on this tremendously sad loss.I really appreciated his wit, intelligence, kindness and gentleness. He was a fine reader at St Thomas church, whether in English or Russian. And, much more than that, a really fine person. He was a tremendously good father, rightly proud of his sons' achievements. His spirit lives on in them.

I am so sorry for your loss. Harry was a beloved friend to all who were blessed to know him. His presence at St. Thomas Church, his whimsical wisdom, gentle kindness, will be remembered and cherished.

I was shocked and saddened by the news of Harry's death. I am very sorry for your loss, and sorry that everyone that had the great pleasure of knowing Harry will feel sorrow. But we are much better and happier people to have been able to know him and to have spent time with him. Our memories will keep him alive in our hearts - I'm very happy for the years we shared as parishioners at St. Thomas Church.

OBITUARY

Harry J. Gaffney

April 20, 1954 – July 12, 2016

Cusimano & Russo Funeral Home

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