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Clark Gillies' philanthropy, kinship with Islanders' alumni will live forever

Jon Ledecky marveled at how comfortable Clark Gillies was with a microphone in his hand. But the Islanders’ co-owner always noticed a purpose to the late Hall of Famer’s always humorous monologues.

"He loved to tell stories and jokes and he loved the microphone," Ledecky told Newsday. "In a way, when he grabbed the microphone, it wasn’t stories regarding him. It was stories about people he played with, people who touched his life. And then it would eventually move into this incredible pitch for philanthropy. That’s a talent that very few people have because he was a larger-than-life personality.