William Clarence Gaskins

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William Gaskins Obituary

Name: Visitation for William Clarence Gaskins
Start: 2025-06-20T10:00:00.000Z
End: 2025-06-20T11:00:00.000Z
Location: Shiloh Christian Church

William Clarence Gaskins
After a life filled with love and service, William Clarence Gaskins, peacefully transitioned into the presence of our Lord on Thursday, June 12, 2025. He was born in Merry Hill, NC to the late James H. Gaskins, Sr. and Pearl Holley on April 11, 1939.
Clarence moved to Connecticut in 1965, where he met and married the love of his life, Alice R. Hoggard. They remained married for 42 years until she passed away in 2007. Along with their children, they had 11 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren. He worked for Pratt & Whitney as a press operator and retired after 24 years. He was also a dedicated member of New Jerusalem Christian Center and became a member of IAM Local 700 in 1966, becoming a steward just a year later and signing up thousands over the years. Having experienced the pain of being denied the right to vote in North Carolina, it became a passion for him to give rides on election days and to pass out and collect absentee ballots from those not able to make in-person election booths. Clarence fought tirelessly for years and obtained the Lifetime of Service to Working Families award from Governor Dan Malloy in 2015 for his union activism with the C.A.N.E.L. Lodge 700, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He was once called "far and away the best organizer in the state, with records that will never be topped." As a Life-time Member of IAM Local Union and Political Activism, Clarence also received the 2019 Voter Empowerment and Political Action award by the Middlesex County Branch of the NAACP.
Clarence was predeceased by his stepmother Catharine Gaskins, brothers James Gaskins, Jr. (Louise) and Holley Gaskins (Bertha), sister Melinda Gaskins, two step-brothers, George Welch of Washington, D.C., and Willie Welch of Richmond, VA, son Sheldon Hoggard (Wendy), and grandson Jakori Locklear.
He is survived by his daughters, Sharon Locklear (Howard), Melinda Gaskins, Theresa Brown, and Wanda Gaskins all of Middletown, CT. He is also survived by one brother, Edward Gaskins, of Middletown; four sisters, Rosa Gaines of Brooklyn, NY, Delzara Ward of Hampton, VA, Karen Robertson (Ricky) and Sharon Johnson, both of Raleigh, NC; three step-sisters, Faye Litefoot of Hartford, NC, Elsie Gilliman of Fayetteville, NC, and Erma Smallwood of Windsor, NC, and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Funeral services will be held at Shiloh Christian Church, 693 Saybrook Rd, Middletown on Friday, June 20, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with the Bishop T. Odell Gaskins presiding and Apostle William J. McKissick, Jr. eulogizing. Interment will be in Pine Grove Cemetery in Middletown. Family and friends may call at the church one hour prior to the service from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Memories and messages of condolences can be sent to the family at www.doolittlefuneralservice.com. The Doolittle Funeral Home, 14 Old Church St., Middletown is in charge of the arrangements.

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Published by Middletown Press on Jun. 17, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for William Gaskins

Sponsored by MiddletownPress.com.

8 Entries

John Robinson

June 24, 2025

Rest in Peace Brother Clarence..Job well done..

Karla

June 19, 2025

Sending my love and strength to the whole family. You will truly be missed Mr. G. You have touched many lives and will leave memories, love, and accomplishments that will be reflected on for years and years to come. Rest in peace, now it´s you´re time to take it easy, you´ve worked to hard! We

James and Alvenis Riddick

June 19, 2025

Our sincere condolences to the family. We will miss him.

JOHN HARRITY

June 18, 2025

This is a remembrance of Clarence I put on my Facebook page. I was proud to be a friend of his thru the Machinists Union. --

Clarence Gaskin died this weekend. If you knew him, you would understand why this was, surprisingly, such a heavy blow to your heart. If you did not know him, I am sorry you missed the opportunity to meet an extraordinary man.
Clarence was a man of humble origins, a son of the South. He came of age in the early 60´s in North Carolina, going off to serve in the military when the draft called him. He returned to North Carolina fit and more worldly, with the sense of confidence young men feel when realizing their new-found strength.
This was the confidence and self-assurance he brought with him when going to vote for the first time. But the white man in charge of the poll said with a grin, "First, I have to ask you a question." Clarence asked what it was. The man said, "How many bubbles are in a bar of soap?" Clarence got what was going on, and asked, "Well, you tell me. How many bubbles in a bar of soap?" The white man in charge of the poll said, "I don´t have to know. You do."
Clarence promptly left the South, making his way to Connecticut and a job at Pratt & Whitney. Clarence said a Business Rep named Bill Nellis signed him up in the Union. At the time, and for many years that Clarence worked at Pratt, it was an open shop. That meant you did not have to join the union or pay any fee at all for the Union´s representation. As Clarence figured out almost immediately, that meant everyone got less.
Clarence got to work - maybe not that much at Pratt - but as an unrelenting union organizer. He preached the Gospel of Union Membership to all who would listen, signing up more workers to the union than any other hourly worker at Pratt. Clarence was a True Believer, but all the prizes and other inducements to sign people up were a great bonus.
His methods were legendary. Clarence would sit in the employment office at Pratt, jumping up when people came out of their employment interviews. "Did you get a job?" Clarence would ask, trailing after the startled new hire. If the person said yes, Clarence would immediately say, "Here, sign this card to join the union." Nine out of ten people would sign without asking any questions.
But he would not stop there. Clarence would visit workers at home, with all the intensity of an encyclopedia salesman or a Jehovah Witness. Famously, one tale was of Clarence calling on a worker who explained the family was eating supper. "That´s OK," Clarence declared, entering the house and sitting away from the table in the dining room. "I can wait," he would declare. Before supper was over Clarence would be leaving the home with a signed card.
At some point in the 1980´s Clarence wrecked his back at work, becoming disabled for the rest of his work career. It did not slow down his ardor for organizing; he remained a top organizer in the Machinists Union.
It did give him more time to spend at the Union Hall, conveying to new stewards and members why joining the Union was so important. It was also a golden opportunity to sell car wash and raffle tickets for his church, both the one he attended in Middletown and his church in South Carolina. Whether they were aware or not, both those houses of worship received a great deal of funding from the Machinists Union thanks to Clarence.
Clarence was a true-blue Democrat, and got around town encouraging people to sign up for an absentee ballot, lining up people who needed rides to the polls and spreading the word about why Democrats were the better, if not perfect, choice for working people.
Clarence was a humble man who long ago became a legend, an institution, within the Machinists Union. There was more to his life than his role in the Union. He loved his wife and kids, and his town of Middletown. He suffered more than his fair share with a bad back. He was a big supporter of Little League. Clarence was on a first name basis with our Congressional delegation, and always received a warm greeting from Jesse Jackson when he was in town.
Clarence was a man in full, with many concerns, and many places where he did good. But to me and to so many others, Clarence was a union man, and in his own humble way, a hero. Rest in peace, Brother Gaskins.

Erma Smallwood

June 18, 2025

I will miss the early phone calls in the morning. He never failed to ask about every family member. He always called me His Fat Pig. He loved me and I will always remember that he loved his North Carolina family. He will be missed but never forgotten. I pray God will strengthen the family and know that God only takes the ones He needs to plant in His garden. Family hold your heads up and let us pray that we'll be ready when He calls our name. His Sister Erma ( His fat pig)

Mark Woike

June 18, 2025

I remember Clarence. He signed me up to become a Machinist Union member in '79. He was a quiet man, but was very knowledgeable on Union matters. Rest in peace Mr Gaskins.

Adrienne Overton

June 17, 2025

My Condolences to the Gaskins family may God comfort you all during this time of sorrow. To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord.

syndi damotta

June 17, 2025

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, what a great Man.
I knew Mr.Gaskins through Kevin, my son and kevin were classmates in elementary school.
God Bless you all in this difficult time.
RIP Mr.Gaskins.
Syndi DaMotta

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