By Angela Marshall
Friends and family said the large turnout at Terence Leary's wake and funeral was a testament to his kind and thoughtful nature. Terence was a sophomore at Wesleyan University with a double major in governmental politics and religious studies.
I don't think he realized how many people loved him, said his father, Douglas Leary.
Terence had a gift for making friends wherever he went, said longtime friend Tom Nash of Floral Park. The two met while attending Regis High School in Manhattan. It was amazing, Nash said of Terence's ability to befriend strangers. You had to like him.
But it was not only Terence's ability to make friends that impressed Nash; it was the way he took the time to get past the superficial aspects of friendship and really know people as individuals. He knew everybody very particularly, Nash said.
Longtime friend Pat Feehan met Terence through Rockville Centre Little League when they were both in grade school. He was the scariest pitcher in town, Feehan said.
Terence's love of baseball led him to the team at Wesleyan. Feehan said his friend's lighthearted attitude was evident even when on the mound. When he struck someone out, Terence couldn't keep a smile off his face. He was too happy, Feehan said.
It was Terence's easy smile and the glisten in his eyes that Douglas Leary recalled first when describing his son. Terence always had a smile on his face, he said.
And he was always eating, his father added. Terence's insatiable appetite was renowned in his group of friends. Feehan said his parents always made an extra sandwich for Terence if they knew he was coming along to the beach. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't eat, Feehan said, recalling that the two of them and another friend would often go out for sushi during the summer.
When it came to community service, Terence shared his love for food with others, working in a soup kitchen the day before Thanksgiving with his father every year.
Terence also had a special relationship with his younger brother Dylan, 10. Although there was a big age difference, Terence made sure to always include Dylan, their father said. The 19-year-old often brought Dylan along when he went out with his friends, and Terence always spent the night before he went back to school with Dylan. They would stay up until the early morning hours, playing games and talking until they finally fell asleep in the same bed. He was a good kid, his father said.
The rides back to school were a special time for father and son. They would spend two or three hours talking about all sorts of things.
Terence's mother, Marian, also recalled special times she had with her son, including the many trips he made into the city, where she works, just to have lunch.
Douglas Leary said the motto at Regis High School is Meant for Others, and that Terence took that to heart. Altruism defined him, his father said.
In addition to his parents and brother, Leary is survived by his grandparents, Frank and Judy Leary and Dien Claassen; 15 aunts and uncles, Judith and John Gray, Brian and Jill Leary, Matthew and Gina Leary, Danny and Joyce Leary, Francis and Karen Leary, Andrew Leary, Erin and John Lopez and Sylvester and Lineke Claassen; and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Lou Claassen.
Reposing was at Macken Mortuary on Nov. 6 and 7. A Funeral Mass was held at St. Agnes Cathedral on Nov. 8. Entombment is at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.
Memorial donations may be made to Regis High School.
