Thursday, October 1, 2026
It is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the family of Vera Clark has announced her death. She died at 2 a.m. on Jan. 11 at South Nassau Communities Hospital. Vera, who turned 100 this past July 29, was hospitalized on Dec. 28 and had been in frail health for some time. She received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction by Clergy from Holy Redeemer Parish in Freeport who were alerted of her passing.
Vera will rest in repose at Thomas A. Glynn & Son Funeral Home on Lincoln Avenue. (The date and time will be announced pending notification of relatives and considering weather conditions.)
“Vivi,” as she was known to her family and friends, had a long and adventurous life. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1910, while her mother Josie Rooney (the sister of the popular vaudevillian star Pat Rooney) was on a circus tour of Europe with her husband Percy’s hire wire act, “The Four Harveys.” The family was held by the Germans at the outbreak of World War I but was later released and fled to England. However Percy, the father, was held in an internment camp in Germany for four years.
Vivi, along with her sister, Ellen, were also dancers in vaudeville, as was their mother and her sister, Julia. Vivi’s husband Gene Clark died in 1978. They were the parents of Patricia (Clark) Bleier, from LaGrangeville, N.Y., “Mickey” Clark of Rockville Centre and Pamela (Clark) Travers, also of Rockville Centre. Vivi is also survived by six grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.
“Vivi” is the last of the Rooney family and after cremation her ashes will be laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery along with the rest of the famed Rooneys.
Vivi was loved dearly and will be missed greatly. She loved her God, her family, her country, her Irish ancestry, and was proud to be the oldest member of the Rockville Centre American Legion Auxiliary. She lived her long life with style and grace and ended it with dignity and the love of all who knew her.
