Claire E. Brassil of Manhattan and Southold died May 30, 2026, at the Westhampton Care Center. She was 77 years old.
Born Aug. 13, 1948, in Brooklyn, she was the first child of Katherine (Kelly) and Jack Brassil. She was a graduate of St. Saviour School in Brooklyn, Fordham University and Teachers College, Columbia University. She retired from the New York City public school system, where she worked as an elementary teacher and reading specialist.
She enjoyed travel, reading, crossword puzzles and Jeopardy, and her family noted her fondness for the British soap opera “EastEnders.” The eldest cousin on both sides of her family, she was known as C.C. to her cousins and spent summers on the North Fork as a mother’s helper, tending to her many cousins with movie nights at the drive-in and trips to Jack’s Shack for ice cream. Her family said she was a calm and steady presence.
She was predeceased by her brother, Jackie; her sister, Kathy; and her dog, Chewie. She is survived by her nephew, Jake Brassil, of Manhattan, whom she raised as her own son, and 25 cousins.
The liturgy of Christian burial will be celebrated Wednesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick’s R.C. Church in Southold, officiated by Monsignor Jerry Ringenbach. Interment will follow at St. Patrick’s R.C. Cemetery in Southold.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to CAST or Boystown are suggested. Arrangements were entrusted to DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold.
