Leslie W. Clifford ’74 died on January 31, 2025, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

(The following was provided by Dery Funeral Home on February 12, 2025:)

Leslie Warren Clifford ’74

Mr. Leslie Warren Clifford, 72, of Pittsfield, MA, died unexpectedly at home in his sleep on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Leslie graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1970, Bowdoin College in 1974, and earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Hartford in 1990.
His father, Stanley Clifford, and his mother, Ethel Skeans Clifford, both of Newfoundland, both predeceased him. He leaves his wife, Elizabeth Lewis Clifford, of Pittsfield and his daughter, Catherine Anne Clifford, of Brooklyn, New York, her partner, Dempsey Hyatt, as well as a brother, Stuart Clifford, and his wife, Susan Clifford, of Savannah, GA. He has two nieces, Grace (Jon) Rivero and children (Jonmichael, Ella, Angel and Elena) of Mableton, GA, and Amy (Joseph) Hill and children (Adrianna, Declan, Keira and Lachlan) of North Chesterfield, VA. He also leaves behind Elizabeth’s brothers Jeffrey (Suzann Jones) Lewis of Brattleboro, Vermont, and sons Adam and Ned, George (Lu-Ann Fiore) Lewis of Framingham, MA, and cousins Marc Teatum and Lisa Jacobwitz.

Les cast a wide net of relationships with many different people that he loved.

First and foremost, his immediate nuclear family: His wife Liz, with whom he just celebrated their 50th anniversary, and their beloved daughter,r Catherine. He met his wife at a Northfield Mount Hermon mixer when they were both 17 and the rest is history. Les and Liz have relished every stage of Catherine’s life from budding mathematician to ballet dancer to avid yogi to climate change journalist. Les, Liz, and Catherine really enjoyed traveling together, including trips to Italy, Newfoundland, and up and down the Atlantic coast in search of beach weather.

Les’s family of origin included his father, a rare book binder and dealer, his mother, an avid gardener and basket maker, and his brother, who pursued a career in the world of finance. Les’s mother inspired in him a great love of cooking. She raised an impressive garden, which was often the foundation of her recipes. Stuart and Les cooked many a Thanksgiving dinner inspired by Gourmet magazine.

Les taught all levels of high school math in six different independent schools. During his time as a teacher, he served as department chair, developed math technology and curriculum and inspired countless students, many of whom he and Liz stay in touch with today. Les also loved coaching: baseball, basketball, and soccer, where his tough love served to develop many athletes and build teams.

Les’s circle of friends include many that he met while teaching. He traveled with them, shared meals with them, shared stories with them, and exchanged sorrows and joys with them. In particular, the Gulottas and Romano-Meades have been friends for forty years.

Les felt very much at home with Liz in Pittsfield. He collected and read books about traveling, fishing, nature, and rock and roll. After retirement, he especially enjoyed watching basketball, baseball, and football. He loved to sit on the screened-in porch in the afternoon and evening and enjoy the sounds of the birds landing in the birdbath and the fruits of his and Liz’s garden. Late in his life, Les, a longtime fan of muscle cars, purchased a 1969 Buick Skylark, which he loved to take to car shows and to drive the Berkshire County roads.