Clifton H.W. Maloney, husband of Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, died in his sleep on Fri., Sept. 25, in a base camp on Cho Oyu mountain in the Himalayas a day after having reached the summit of the 27,000-foot-high peak. He was 71.
With his climb of Cho Oyu, Maloney, an avid alpinist and marathon runner, became the oldest American ever to summit one of the world’s 14 mountains that are more than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) — the planet’s highest peaks.
“He was our rock,” said his grieving wife to reporters on Sunday night on the Upper East Side where she and her husband lived with their daughters, Virginia and Christina. “He died doing what he loved,” she added. They had been married since 1976.
His last words were said to be, “I’m the happiest man in the world. I’ve just summited a beautiful mountain.”
Maloney reached the 27,000-foot summit of Cho Oyu on the China-Nepal border on the morning of Sept. 24 and spent the night at Base Camp 3 below the peak. The next day he and his party descended to Base Camp 2 at 23,000 feet where he died in his sleep.
His body reached Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, on Tuesday on its long voyage home.
Clif Maloney was born in Philadelphia on Oct. 15, 1937, graduated from Princeton in 1960, served in the Navy from 1960 to 1963 and graduated from Harvard Business School in 1965.
He worked at several financial services companies, including The City Management Corp., Electronic Bond and Share Co. and New York Securities Co. In 1974 he became a vice president of Goldman Sachs & Co. In 1981 he founded his own investment company, C.H.W. Maloney & Co., Inc.
A dedicated marathon runner, he finished the New York City Marathon 20 times, including 2008 when he finished as the fastest American in his age group. He was a dedicated sailor and member of the New York Yacht Club. As a mountain climber he conquered five of the Seven Summits — the highest peaks of each of the seven continents, Mt. Elbrus in the Caucuses, Acongagua in Peru, Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, Denali in Alaska and Kilimanjaro in Africa.
In addition to his wife and two daughters, his mother, Virginia Wells Maloney of Philadelphia; a sister, Virginia Maloney Lawrence; and eight nieces and nephews survive.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Clifton H.W. Maloney Scholarship Fund at Princeton, the Explorers Club or the American Alpine Association.
The funeral will be next Fri., Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. at the Brick Church on Park Ave. between E. 91st and E. 92nd Sts.
