Just a day before his passing, Bob reached out his hand to a young man from the hospital who was assisting him and said, “Nice to meet you.” That was Bob, Bobby, “Big Bob” Clinton – consistently through life and until the very end, he was extremely social, kind to people, loving to his family and friends, and making jokes to keep things light.   Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Bob spent the first years of his life dedicated to his family and developing his love of sports on the streets of Red Hook, long before it was “cool.” His siblings – Karen (Phillip), Edward and Kenneth (Anthony) – all remember Bobby competing (and excelling) in one sport or another and his parents, Robert and Anne, proudly displaying countless trophies throughout the house.   After high school, at the age of 17, he began his very successful 40+ year career at Morgan Guaranty Trust, now JP Morgan Chase. His first jobs were delivering mail and reconciling checks and, by the time he retired, he was a Vice President with tremendous responsibility trading federal funds, a job he excelled at because of his uncanny ability to accurately read people and read situations.   At Morgan, he was smitten when he met his wife, Margaret, at a company holiday party. Soon, they got married and he became a much beloved member of the Molloy family.   For all of these reasons, he truly loved “The Bank” where he developed an incredible work ethic, mentored countless young people through their careers, and made life-long friends through playing sports on company leagues, mostly softball and bowling.   Soon, he and Margaret had the “girls” – Christina, Debra and Suzanne – and the middle decades of their life in Brooklyn are full of memories with friends from the neighborhood, at The Knights of Columbus (Thomas Dongan Council), holiday get togethers, family picnics, summer camping trips and, later, Sunday BBQs … a weekly open house that was so fun the neighbors wanted to join!   He continued to play softball and golf and bowl – which was his favorite sport. He bowled two perfect games and has the rings to prove it! He loved playing cards with his friends – especially pinochle – and poker on holidays and at BBQs. He hugged EVERYONE, loved music, dancing at parties, Rusty Nails, was an avid reader and loved watching old black and white romance movies and The Hallmark Channel.   Through it all, Bob was a balanced combination of the life of the party and the one you could depend on. He was rarely in a bad mood or showed anger. He was extremely faithful, and that faith carried him through the last months.   He knew how to connect with people and make them feel special and loved. He had some favorite go-to quotes, like: “Every once in a while, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.” He told his daughters, nieces and nephews they were his “favorite” and he said it with such genuine love and care that we all believe it. Because Bob didn’t need one favorite – he had a big enough heart to share with all who crossed his path.     And that heart was shared even more when Bob and Margaret moved to Manchester, NJ and our family expanded with Greg and Darren – two men that he loved like sons -- and his grandchildren Olivia, Tripp, Tyler and Ryan. Papa was a name he wore proudly. He really cherished his time with his grandchildren – especially family sleep overs when they were young, watching them play sports and boasting about their many milestones. Manchester was a really cherished time and he had such fun playing with the Rebels.   These last years, Bob and Margaret live in Ocean Township where they continued to spend time with new friends and old friends back from Brooklyn. You can see the themes – family, friends, love, laughter.   The day before Bob died, as he was on a stretcher getting into an ambulance, he said in a strong, Bob voice that I hadn’t heard in a while: “Tell them all I love them.”  And, so we are. Viewing will be held on Monday, May 1, 2023 from 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. at O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Hwy 35, Wall, NJ 07719. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Tuesday, May 2nd at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Innocents RC Church, Neptune. Cremation is private. In lieu of flowers, donations would be greatly appreciated to The Madonna House, https://themadonnahouse.com/.

To livestream Robert's Mass please visit https://holyinnocentschurch.net/