DeAnn Peterson Clancy

1937 - 2026

DeAnn Peterson Clancy

Lebanon, NH - DeAnn Clancy, who filled her life with singing, service, and smiles, passed away peacefully in Lebanon, NH, on February 26, 2026, following a recent stroke. She was 88.

The child of Swedish immigrants, DeAnn grew up on the north side of Chicago. She attended North Park Junior College and Augustana College, from which she graduated in 1959. She began her career as a research endocrinologist at Searle Pharmaceuticals, where she worked on the team that developed the first viable birth-control pill. Her lab joined Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in suburban Philadelphia, and she built a successful professional life there.

In 1966, while working with the Wyeth Torch United Way campaign, DeAnn met Wyeth executive Maurice Clancy. Following a whirlwind courtship, they married on New Year's Eve, beginning two decades of romance, travel, and blissful devotion. The couple lived in Villanova, PA, and raised two sons, Lee and Brian. During their marriage and beyond Maury's early death in 1985, DeAnn cherished him as her true love.

Throughout her life, DeAnn was an accomplished singer in both amateur and professional contexts. Equally comfortable in church services and cabaret-style fundraisers, singing everything from German lieder to Broadway showtunes, she engaged listeners with a confident presence and smiling warmth. In 1965, she sang the national anthem prior to a Philadelphia Eagles game, and she regularly honored her heritage with performances at the American Swedish Historical Museum. She preferred smaller audiences, though, in years of singing for local nursing homes, hospitals, and other organizations. It was through music that she most enthusiastically served her community, organizing an arts outreach program for her beloved Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and volunteering with the Philadelphia Orchestra's school programs.

DeAnn brought a persistently cheerful, optimistic energy to all that she did. She made the best of any situation and, appropriately for a lifelong Cubs and Phillies fan, was always quick to laugh, even at herself. Whether crafting costumes for a school play, solving puzzles or playing scrabble, or learning from her four dear grandchildren, she offered a versatile intellect, relentless curiosity, and a generous sense of wonder. It was this delightful spirit that she drew from and gave back to her family, whom she loved, all the way from Chicago to New Hampshire and beyond.

DeAnn is survived by her son Maurice Lee Clancy, Jr., his wife Sarah, their son Finn and daughter Sevi; by her son Brian Clancy, his former wife Amy Driscoll, and their daughters Katherine and Grace; and by her nephew Paul Peterson, his wife Angela Swanson, their daughter Aisling and son Christopher. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory, either to the Fine Arts Program of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church or to another of the many organizations which she herself supported. An online guest book is available to leave a message of condolence for DeAnn's family by visiting www.rickerfuneralhome.com.