Clarence Arnold Terry of the Shinnecock Indian Nation died October 23 at Hampton Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. He was 72.
Born on December 13, 1935, to Edward and Thelma Terry in Manhattan, to most people he was known as “Butch” or “Clack.” He attended the Shinnecock School until the sixth grade and continued his education at Southampton public schools, graduating in 1957.
He entered the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Kincheloe Air Force Base in Michigan, where he went on to work at the Ford Motor Company for several years. When he finally returned home to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, he was employed as a driver for the Shinnecock Citizen Program, Head Start School and the Montauk Bus Company for the Southampton School District.
On June 19, 1976, he married Sheila Eleazer of Shinnecock and together they had “my three sons,” as he liked to refer to them, Curtis, Arnay and Terrell Terry. He also had two daughters from a previous marriage, Michelle and Denise Terry.
During the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, he was considered one of the best Shinnecock golfers of his time, playing at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the National Golf Links of America. He paired with Don Williams Sr. to beat “the best of the best 7,” including winning the annual tournament with the Tour Caddies from the South.
In addition to his wife, Sheila Terry, he is survived by three sons, Pastor Curtis Terry and his wife Migdalia of Farmingville, Arnay Terry and his wife Rasheada of Rochester, and Terrell Terry of Shinnecock; a daughter, Denise Terry; four sisters, Cheryl Franklin, Charlotte Gumbs and Loretta Reddick, all of Shinnecock, and Carol Josenberg of Virginia; three brothers, Edward Terry and Norman Terry, both of Shinnecock, and Frederick Terry of Mount Vernon; five granddaughters, Dayana, Myasia, Kaylee, Nischwe and Zamaria; a grandson, Cheyenne; a great-grandson, Zamarion; and numerous brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, relatives and friends.
A daughter, Michelle Terry, predeceased him.
A wake and funeral service were held on October 27 at the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church on Shinnecock, followed by interment with military honors at Shinnecock Cemetery.
on Oct 28, 2008