John Jay College Foundation, Inc. c/o Children's Holiday Party Mail to: John Jay College Foundation, Inc. Haaran Hall Attn: Kevin Fish c/o Children's Holiday Party 524 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019

Helen T. (Cleary) Brennan Helen (aka Shirley by her husband John), 93, passed away on September 3, 2021 at her home in Sunnylane, Bethpage, NY. Helen lived and spent her last weeks in accordance with her wishes, surrounded daily by her daughters and grandchildren and at peace with our Lord. Helen was born at home on January 10, 1928 to James and Elizabeth Cleary in Bronx, NY. She and her siblings worked in their father’s grocery store. In her adult years, Helen worked for a steamship company. When her children were older, Helen went back to work as a bookkeeper and a self-taught programmer. Helen attended St. Pius Elementary and Cathedral High School. She was an inspiration to all her children when in her 40’s she graduated from Nassau Community College with a degree in Nursery Education. Helen was an avid and very lucky bingo player. For many years Helen served on the Sunnylane Board and was editor of their newsletter. Helen (Mom/Nana) will be best remembered for her homemade greeting cards and Halloween costumes, outstanding computer skills, sweet tooth, but most especially she’ll be remembered for weekly sleepovers with a “scout’s bite” of chopped spinach, her porcupine meatballs, raisin bread, “Brennan’s” Irish cream and love of “hot” tea. And no matter how full she was from dinner, she always had room for dessert (“it goes down a different way”). She was always there with tons of hugs and kisses for all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband John Brennan, grandson Stephen Davidian, her three siblings James Cleary, Alice Burke and Joseph Cleary, as well as her niece Deborah Quinn and nephew William Burke.

Her pride and joy were her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Survivors include her four daughters and sons-in-law Ann and John Davidian, Eileen Brennan, Maureen and Edgar Santiago and Nora and Frank DiRocco; grandchildren Michael (Liza) Davidian, Lauren and John (Poy) Remson, Jennifer (Evan) Busbey and Daniel (Alyssa) Santiago, Diana, Frank (Kristen) and Joseph (Natalie) DiRocco; great-grandchildren Audrey and Jack Davidian, Landon Busbey, Olivia and Frankie DiRocco, Range Santiago, and Sienna DiRocco, as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.