Obituary: Claire Allen D’Agostino

She was a fighter. Claire Allen D’Agostino was born Aug. 15, 1945, in Moultrie, Ga., and passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s on July 28, 2023, just shy of her 78th birthday.

Claire was an incredibly accomplished woman. After finishing her undergraduate degree from Agnes Scott College, she married in November of 1970 to Robert Joseph D’Agostino. She then earned her PhD in psychology from Georgia State University in 1972.

Claire was a pioneer in police and corrections work as a licensed clinical psychologist for the State of New Jersey, the City of Wilmington, Del., and the City of Atlanta. She also spent critical time caring for troubled youth at the Governor Bacon Juvenile Center in Delaware. Upon retirement, she worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs counseling military personnel upon return from active duty.

She served as a consultant to the Department of Justice under the Reagan Administration, founded the Georgia chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition, served as president of Temple Sinai, was appointed by Gov. Sonny Purdue to the Georgia Holocaust Commission and was subsequently made chair by Gov. Nathan Deal, all while raising three children. In addition, she drank untold gallons of unsweet tea. It was an exceptional life.

Claire is survived by her husband, Robert, of nearly 53 years, her children, Joseph, Joshua, and his wife, Annie, Gaby, and her husband, Michael, and her six grandchildren, Elena, Sari, Mira, Sophia, Jack, and Ana. A graveside funeral was held on Sunday, July 30 at 3:30 p.m. at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

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