St Francis College - Franciscan Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 17 text:

JOHN CLIFFORD 1931 - 1977 What manner of man, this John Clifford? Teacher, confidant, Director, Dean, and more than all these, a friend. Never too busy to listen, never too sophisticated to laugh at an old joke. It was one of his favorite things - laughter. He liked people and was optimistic about the good in everyone. And in many ways the most Christian man ever to have touched our lives. Those who knew him are fortunate because he will live forever in their memories and hearts. Those who never had the opportunity of meeting him may have been affected by him, nonetheless. His love of fair play and sense of justice caused him to fight for student rights and he wasn ' t afraid of rocking the boat . All of us benefited just by his being here. He was magic in the Theatre and his instincts about what was good entertainment and what was not, were infallible. He could pull together a group of people of differing temperments whose only common denomina¬ tor was their regard for John Clifford. This is what made him such a good Director, Dean, moderator of 4 clubs and caused everyone who worked with him to love him. With his death, a void was left in many lives. And a little more light went out of the world.