Griswold - John "JC" or "Johnny" Charles Clapper III, of Griswold, passed on Dec. 7, 2010.
Johnny is survived by his mother, Roberta Clapper of Griswold; father, John Clapper Jr. of Preston; stepfather, Charles Evans Jr. of Norwich; big sister, Jennifer "NaNa" Clapper of Peoria, Ill.; little sister, Jessica Clapper of Groton; aunt and uncle, Elaine Cwynar and John Marks of Randolph, Mass.; aunt, uncle, and cousin, Dawn, Walter, and Haley Cwynar of Moosup; man's best friend, Cody; and also extended family and countless friends.
He was a junior at Griswold High School, involved in chorus and played as #44 on the Wolverines last year. John loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, and riding dirt bikes on the weekends. He also loved to cook big meals with his family. His smile, big and goofy, lit up a room and his quick wit and infectious sense of humor never allowed for a dull moment.
Johnny was very dedicated to his family, friends, and love, Sativa Cornell. He had high hopes and aspirations of enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating high school.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in All Hallows Church, Moosup. Burial will follow in All Hallows Cemetery. There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John Charles Clapper III Scholarship, C/O Eastern Federal Bank, PO Box 709, Norwich, CT 06360, or at any branch.
Dougherty Bros. Funeral Home Plainfield has been entrusted with arrangements.
* * * * *
Moosup, Conn. —
As John Clapper's funeral procession arrived behind the All Hallows Catholic Church in Moosup Saturday morning, two sounds cut through the still air.
One was the ringing of the church's bell, and the other a volunteer fire department's wailing alarm that blanketed the town.
It seemed a fitting tribute for a family whose roots run as deep as Moosup is small.
Clapper, 16, was one of four teens killed Tuesday in a one-car wreck along Route 201 in Griswold. Funeral services were held Saturday for three of them.
"It's beyond comprehension. That's my daugther right there, I cannot think of her dying. I cannot think of that," said Moosup's Jack Howard, a Clapper family friend for more than 30 years. "It doesn't fit my mind. John (Sr.) is feeling the same thing."
Renee Normandie, school nurse at Griswold Middle School, said for hundreds of people, rallying around the families of Clapper, Dillon Clifford, 16, Sativa Cornell, 16, and Steven Szklarz, 15, was instinctual.
A fifth teen, 16-year-old Joel Gallup, remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"Our school, the eighth graders knew them, they rode the buses together. The high school has tons of support, it's just incredible," Normandie said. "I have children. You just let them hug or cry. What do you say?"
Johnny is survived by his mother, Roberta Clapper of Griswold; father, John Clapper Jr. of Preston; stepfather, Charles Evans Jr. of Norwich; big sister, Jennifer "NaNa" Clapper of Peoria, Ill.; little sister, Jessica Clapper of Groton; aunt and uncle, Elaine Cwynar and John Marks of Randolph, Mass.; aunt, uncle, and cousin, Dawn, Walter, and Haley Cwynar of Moosup; man's best friend, Cody; and also extended family and countless friends.
He was a junior at Griswold High School, involved in chorus and played as #44 on the Wolverines last year. John loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, and riding dirt bikes on the weekends. He also loved to cook big meals with his family. His smile, big and goofy, lit up a room and his quick wit and infectious sense of humor never allowed for a dull moment.
Johnny was very dedicated to his family, friends, and love, Sativa Cornell. He had high hopes and aspirations of enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating high school.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in All Hallows Church, Moosup. Burial will follow in All Hallows Cemetery. There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John Charles Clapper III Scholarship, C/O Eastern Federal Bank, PO Box 709, Norwich, CT 06360, or at any branch.
Dougherty Bros. Funeral Home Plainfield has been entrusted with arrangements.
* * * * *
Moosup, Conn. —
As John Clapper's funeral procession arrived behind the All Hallows Catholic Church in Moosup Saturday morning, two sounds cut through the still air.
One was the ringing of the church's bell, and the other a volunteer fire department's wailing alarm that blanketed the town.
It seemed a fitting tribute for a family whose roots run as deep as Moosup is small.
Clapper, 16, was one of four teens killed Tuesday in a one-car wreck along Route 201 in Griswold. Funeral services were held Saturday for three of them.
"It's beyond comprehension. That's my daugther right there, I cannot think of her dying. I cannot think of that," said Moosup's Jack Howard, a Clapper family friend for more than 30 years. "It doesn't fit my mind. John (Sr.) is feeling the same thing."
Renee Normandie, school nurse at Griswold Middle School, said for hundreds of people, rallying around the families of Clapper, Dillon Clifford, 16, Sativa Cornell, 16, and Steven Szklarz, 15, was instinctual.
A fifth teen, 16-year-old Joel Gallup, remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"Our school, the eighth graders knew them, they rode the buses together. The high school has tons of support, it's just incredible," Normandie said. "I have children. You just let them hug or cry. What do you say?"
Griswold - John "JC" or "Johnny" Charles Clapper III, of Griswold, passed on Dec. 7, 2010.
Johnny is survived by his mother, Roberta Clapper of Griswold; father, John Clapper Jr. of Preston; stepfather, Charles Evans Jr. of Norwich; big sister, Jennifer "NaNa" Clapper of Peoria, Ill.; little sister, Jessica Clapper of Groton; aunt and uncle, Elaine Cwynar and John Marks of Randolph, Mass.; aunt, uncle, and cousin, Dawn, Walter, and Haley Cwynar of Moosup; man's best friend, Cody; and also extended family and countless friends.
He was a junior at Griswold High School, involved in chorus and played as #44 on the Wolverines last year. John loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, and riding dirt bikes on the weekends. He also loved to cook big meals with his family. His smile, big and goofy, lit up a room and his quick wit and infectious sense of humor never allowed for a dull moment.
Johnny was very dedicated to his family, friends, and love, Sativa Cornell. He had high hopes and aspirations of enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating high school.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in All Hallows Church, Moosup. Burial will follow in All Hallows Cemetery. There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John Charles Clapper III Scholarship, C/O Eastern Federal Bank, PO Box 709, Norwich, CT 06360, or at any branch.
Dougherty Bros. Funeral Home Plainfield has been entrusted with arrangements.
* * * * *
Moosup, Conn. —
As John Clapper's funeral procession arrived behind the All Hallows Catholic Church in Moosup Saturday morning, two sounds cut through the still air.
One was the ringing of the church's bell, and the other a volunteer fire department's wailing alarm that blanketed the town.
It seemed a fitting tribute for a family whose roots run as deep as Moosup is small.
Clapper, 16, was one of four teens killed Tuesday in a one-car wreck along Route 201 in Griswold. Funeral services were held Saturday for three of them.
"It's beyond comprehension. That's my daugther right there, I cannot think of her dying. I cannot think of that," said Moosup's Jack Howard, a Clapper family friend for more than 30 years. "It doesn't fit my mind. John (Sr.) is feeling the same thing."
Renee Normandie, school nurse at Griswold Middle School, said for hundreds of people, rallying around the families of Clapper, Dillon Clifford, 16, Sativa Cornell, 16, and Steven Szklarz, 15, was instinctual.
A fifth teen, 16-year-old Joel Gallup, remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"Our school, the eighth graders knew them, they rode the buses together. The high school has tons of support, it's just incredible," Normandie said. "I have children. You just let them hug or cry. What do you say?"
Johnny is survived by his mother, Roberta Clapper of Griswold; father, John Clapper Jr. of Preston; stepfather, Charles Evans Jr. of Norwich; big sister, Jennifer "NaNa" Clapper of Peoria, Ill.; little sister, Jessica Clapper of Groton; aunt and uncle, Elaine Cwynar and John Marks of Randolph, Mass.; aunt, uncle, and cousin, Dawn, Walter, and Haley Cwynar of Moosup; man's best friend, Cody; and also extended family and countless friends.
He was a junior at Griswold High School, involved in chorus and played as #44 on the Wolverines last year. John loved the outdoors, fishing, hunting, and riding dirt bikes on the weekends. He also loved to cook big meals with his family. His smile, big and goofy, lit up a room and his quick wit and infectious sense of humor never allowed for a dull moment.
Johnny was very dedicated to his family, friends, and love, Sativa Cornell. He had high hopes and aspirations of enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating high school.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in All Hallows Church, Moosup. Burial will follow in All Hallows Cemetery. There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John Charles Clapper III Scholarship, C/O Eastern Federal Bank, PO Box 709, Norwich, CT 06360, or at any branch.
Dougherty Bros. Funeral Home Plainfield has been entrusted with arrangements.
* * * * *
Moosup, Conn. —
As John Clapper's funeral procession arrived behind the All Hallows Catholic Church in Moosup Saturday morning, two sounds cut through the still air.
One was the ringing of the church's bell, and the other a volunteer fire department's wailing alarm that blanketed the town.
It seemed a fitting tribute for a family whose roots run as deep as Moosup is small.
Clapper, 16, was one of four teens killed Tuesday in a one-car wreck along Route 201 in Griswold. Funeral services were held Saturday for three of them.
"It's beyond comprehension. That's my daugther right there, I cannot think of her dying. I cannot think of that," said Moosup's Jack Howard, a Clapper family friend for more than 30 years. "It doesn't fit my mind. John (Sr.) is feeling the same thing."
Renee Normandie, school nurse at Griswold Middle School, said for hundreds of people, rallying around the families of Clapper, Dillon Clifford, 16, Sativa Cornell, 16, and Steven Szklarz, 15, was instinctual.
A fifth teen, 16-year-old Joel Gallup, remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"Our school, the eighth graders knew them, they rode the buses together. The high school has tons of support, it's just incredible," Normandie said. "I have children. You just let them hug or cry. What do you say?"
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
