Patriarch of Maloney Clan, Clif Maloney, Passes On

I first met Clifton H.W. Maloney two years ago when the organization I founded, Orphans International, honored his wife, U.S. Congress member Carolyn B. Maloney, at a dinner on New York’s Upper East Side.

Clif and daughter Virginia came with Carolyn, and we all sat together at the head table.

Unlike most mundane table conversations, we talked about the need to be good stewards of our time and resources, marshalling what we had to make the greatest impact on helping humanity. 

He was a passionate and pragmatic advocate of good causes.

Clif Maloney reached the 27,000-foot summit of the “Turquoise Goddess,”
as the mountain is known, on the morning of Sept.24th, 2009, making him the
oldest American believed to have ever summited an 8,000 meter peak.

Last week the Maloney family said goodbye to Clif at the Brick Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue, joined by a Who’s Who of New York.

Carole King sang So far Away, Bill Clinton and Chuck Schumer attended, along with David Paterson, David Dinkins, Geraldine Ferraro, and uncountable members from the New York City Council and New York State Assembly.

Clif, 71, passed away in September after climbing one of the tallest mountains in the world, Mt. Cho Oyu, between Nepal and China.  He had reached the 27,000 foot top, making him the oldest American to ever summit an 8,000 meter peak.

Clif Maloney with a climbing companion on Citlaltepetl on Orizaba,
the highest peak in Mexico (photo courtesy of NYSAlpine.org).

On the way back down the mountain, he died in his sleep at the base camp.  His last words were, "I'm the happiest man in the world.  I've just summited a beautiful mountain."

Clif was an avid mountaineer, having climbed five of the Seven Summits, including Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Vinson, Denali, and Kilimanjaro.

He died on Cho Oyu Mountain.  Hillary Clinton personally intervened to get his body back to New York.

Investment banker and mountain climber Clifton H.W. Maloney
married U.S. Congress member Carolyn B. Maloney in 1976.

Born in Philadelphia in 1937, Clif graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Business School.  He and served in the U.S. Navy.  His funeral reflected his universities, business, and military experiences.

An investment banker and real estate investor, he left Goldman Sachs to found his own company, C.H.W. Maloney & Co. to acquire established businesses for long term investment.

Clif was a dedicated marathon runner who had finished the New York Marathon 20 times.  In 2008, he finished as the fastest American in his age group.  He enjoyed sailing and was a member of the New York Yacht Club.

Clifton Maloney with wife Carolyn and daughter Virginia joined me for
a reception for Orphans International on Sutton Place, December 2007.

Deeply committed to the quality of life in his local community, Clif was on the Board of Civitas and the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens and was active in Carnegie Hill Neighbors.

Like Leila Luce, Clif was a member of the Explorer's Club.  His passion for mountain-climbing and an equally great passion for boats of all sorts came out of his experiences as a life-long summer resident of Blue Mt. Lake in the Adirondacks.

Clif was a life-long summer resident of Blue Mt. Lake in the Adirondacks.

Clif married Carolyn in 1976.  Their daughters, Christina Paul Maloney and Virginia Marshall Maloney, delivered heart-felt eulogies at the funeral.

Virginia has been an active volunteer with Orphans International, bringing me on to Princeton’s campus on numerous occasions to speak about our orphan projects in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.  She volunteered at last year’s Orphans International gala at the Indonesian Consulate.

I have known the Maloney family for years.  Carolyn has come to both my office and my home and has been honored by my organization for her tremendous humanitarian work helping children.  Carolyn wrote a piece honoring my own mother’s passing in the Congressional Record in 2001.

Last year, I wrote about her in the Huffington Post.  In 2007 she presented me with a Congressional Recognition Award.

Clifton H.W. Maloney represented the Maloney tradition of both doing well and doing good.  He was a thought leader on the need for those most able to help the less fortunate.  He was a global citizen.  He leaves such a large void.

He also leaves his remarkable family a strong legacy that will continue to guide them as well as us all to move our state, our nation, and our world toward a better future.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make charitable contributions in Mr. Maloney’s memory please direct them to the Clifton H.W. Maloney Scholarship Fund at Princeton University, or the Explorer's Club, or the American Alpine Club.  Clifton H.W. Maloney Wikipedia entry.

Edited by Ethel Grodzins Romm.

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