April 8, 2024 | By: Thomas Herrold

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

One of Barbara Clancy’s favorite memories of her father is the time he took her and her siblings on a trip to Florida. As a successful salesman, Thomas R. Clancy Sr. was occasionally awarded trips to faraway vacation spots – this time, it was flying to an upscale hotel in Miami. However, as a father of 11 children at the time, Clancy opted to forfeit his four awarded plane tickets, instead choosing to endure the lengthy drive from Syracuse, N.Y. to Florida with his family. Split between a caravan of two station wagons, they spent the vacation instead in a Daytona Beach motel right on the ocean. Barbara still clings to that memory of her father and wishes he could have visited Florida with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, too. But he didn’t live long enough.

Clancy’s body was discovered in the trunk of his car by one of his sons on November 15, 1983, following several days of mysterious absence. He had been shot, and his murder has never been solved.

The sixth of 14 children, Thomas Clancy had grown up in the small town of Split Rock, New York. Encircled by poverty, his family was no stranger to hardship – his childhood home had even lacked plumbing. Perhaps these humble beginnings were what inspired him to be so generous later in his life. Known by his family as a kind man, he enjoyed taking others to dinner, purchasing toys and treats for children, and even paying the fares for those in line behind him at tollbooths.

“He enjoyed people,” Barbara said.

During World War II, Clancy served as a skilled pilot in the Army Air Corp flying B17 planes and completing over 40 bombing missions. He enjoyed his time as a pilot, showcasing his ability by eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Almost 40 years after his service, Clancy went on to renew his pilot’s license and begin to teach Barbara’s son how to fly. According to Barbara, this military training was what had granted her father the ability to stay calm during emergencies. Clancy was the type of person people called first when things went wrong – he always kept a level head.

“That person was my dad,” Barbara said.

Clancy was last seen visiting one of his critically ill daughters in the hospital. According to Barbara, she could not reach her father beginning on the morning of November 12, 1983. Days later, one of his sons said he saw his car in a Dallas parking lot and checked the trunk.

His body was discovered with his hands carefully crossed in the trunk of his car, a 1982 Cadillac, in the Anatole Hotel parking lot in Dallas on the morning of November 15, 1983. His body had been left atop a bed of newspapers, and he was wearing his typical sleepwear – boxer shorts and socks. Some of his valuables were missing – a gold ID bracelet, initialed ring, and Rolex watch, for example.  Medical examiners in Dallas concluded that Clancy had been shot by a medium-caliber weapon in the back-left side of his head. Neither the firearm nor the culprit have ever been found. Even now, Dallas police say the investigation is open and therefore won’t disclose information about Clancy’s case. Law enforcement has not re-questioned witnesses who might now be willing to talk, according to Barbara.

For Barbara, who was 35 when her father was murdered, there is no justice– but that hasn’t stopped her from connecting with her father. Earning a PhD in Neuroscience after her father’s death, Barbara achieved one of her father’s unrealized dreams – attending college. Although decades have passed since the murder of her father, the case remains fresh in Barbara’s mind.

Now 75 years of age, Barbara doesn’t want to die without knowing what happened to her dad. “Sometimes it still feels like yesterday,” she said.

For more information, visit this website created by the Clancy family for Thomas R. Clancy Sr.

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Anyone with information on Thomas’s case is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department Detectives at 214-671-4743. To remain anonymous, contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 877-373-8477.

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