Thomas Clancy Henley

Thomas Clancy Henley, a beloved educator of Cleveland, Tennessee, passed away Sunday, September 26, 2021 at the age of 95, surrounded by his loving family. Clancy was born in Meigs County, Tennessee on March 1, 1926. He attended Fairview Elementary School which was built on land Clancy's father donated to the county. The value of education was instilled in him at a very early age. In 1943, Clancy graduated from Meigs County High School where he played on the basketball team. He attended Tennessee Wesleyan College playing on the basketball, football and tennis teams. During his time at TWC, he was awarded “Most Athletic.”

Clancy enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, serving in the Philippines before being sent as part of the force which came to occupy the mainland of Japan.

He returned to college at Tennessee Wesleyan on the GI Bill before transferring to East Tennessee State College where he pursued a degree in Education. It was there that he met his beloved wife of 62 years, Roma Louise Huff.

After college, Clancy and Roma moved to Cleveland, Tennessee where they both became lifelong educators.

Clancy’s first teaching assignment was as a sixth-grade teacher and basketball coach at Templeton Hill School (1949-1954). He attended University of Tennessee at Chattanooga earning his Master’s Degree in Education in 1951. He served as principal of Blythe Avenue School (1954-1961), Allen School (1961-1970), and was later appointed as principal of Cleveland High School (1970-1979). He earned his Advanced Certificate in Education from the University of Tennessee in 1976 with 45 hours above his Master’s degree. His years at Cleveland High were the highlight of his career. Until very recently, he was the longest serving principal in that school’s history. In 1979, Clancy was transferred to Mayfield School where he served as principal until his retirement in 1987. During retirement Clancy was still very active in public education. He was appointed to the Cleveland City School board in 1989 and served until 1996 when he stepped down.

The Henley name will long be associated with education in Cleveland and the state of Tennessee at large. Between Roma and Clancy, the pair dedicated 82 years to the Cleveland City School System. Clancy’s legacy will live on in the many lives he touched throughout his long and storied career. He will be remembered as a man who had the innate ability to see the good in every student, someone who could always find what a child could do without focusing on their shortcomings. He never asked a teacher to do a job he was unwilling to do himself. He will be remembered as a kind, gentle and humble soul who was so loved by the many people whose lives he touched.

He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Cleveland for 71 years. He served as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, Elder, Sunday School Superintendent, Member of the Christian Education Committee, Church Treasurer, First Presbyterian Church Children’s Center Preschool Board and the Board of the Joy School. He was a Member of Cleveland-Bradley Retired Teachers Association, the National School Board Association, Tennessee School Board Association, and National Education Association. He was the Old Timer of the Year in 2003 at the Sports Hall of Fame banquet for his coaching of the Templeton Hill school basketball team. He was a life member of Masonic Lodge #134 in Cleveland.


Clancy is preceded in death by his wife, Roma Huff Henley, daughter, Sandra Lee Henley, parents, Robert Snyder Henley and Ethel Norton Henley, brothers, Quincy Melton Henley and Robert Snyder Henley, Jr. and sister Leolah Henley Hodge. He is survived by his daughter, Anita Henley Johnston and husband, James Morgan Johnston, III; granddaughter, Amanda Austin Miller and husband, Aon Douglas Miller, great-granddaughters, Morgan Kathryne Miller and Mary Alden Miller, sister-in-law, Patricia Lee Henley, along with several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by the many students for whom he had a lifelong influence.

The family would like to thank his beloved caregivers, Vanessa Constant Howell, Joyce Gwendolyn Ivey, Martha Tate Craigmiles, and his compassionate caregivers at Legacy Village of Cleveland.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Cleveland Bradley Public Education Foundation, P.O. Box 4354, Cleveland, TN 37320, First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland, 433 North Ocoee Street, Cleveland, TN 37311 or the Cleveland Public Library, 795 Church Street, NW, Cleveland, TN 37311

Weather permitting, an outdoor, socially distanced Celebration of Life Service will be held in the Courtyard of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland at noon on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 with visitation to follow from 1-3 pm. In case of rain, the service will be moved indoors with masks required for all in attendance, per the request of the family.