Clyde Emil Sanford

Sanford, Clyde Emil
Rochester: September 20, 2007. Clyde Emil Sanford was born in 1942, in Clinton, Louisiana, in the Feliciana Parrish. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Addie Thomas and Aaron Pitts; his paternal grandparents, Chenneye Guy Sanford and Luther Sanford; his father, Johnny Louis Sanford; his brother, Christopher Johnson; and his step-son, Richard Smith. He is survived by his mother and step-father, Mary Louise and Richard Johnson; his ex-wife and the mother of his children, Alice Sanford; his daughter and son-in-law, Ylisa and Charlie Seymour; and his step-son James Smith all of Santa Rosa, California; his daughter-in-law Debra Smith; his companion of many years, Darla Ostrum; and his lifelong friend, Richard Craven, all of Rochester, NY. Also, he is survived by his grandchildren, Audrey Claire and C. Xavier Seymour; Shane and Courtney Smith of California; and Kate Smith, of Rochester; and innumerable extended family and friends throughout the world.
In the 1960's, Clyde came to be known as the Gentle Giant of Joseph Avenue, and was instrumental in bringing African American arts and culture to the forefront of the violent times that plagued Rochester in those years. He and Alice established the first art gallery in Rochester devoted solely to African American and African art in the heart of the city, on the corner of Hudson Avenue and Friederich Park, known as Haiti Rochester-Afro-American Cultural Center. While surrounded by the militant and political activism of his contemporaries, Clyde fostered a cultural revolution and extracted an appreciation of what Rochester's African American community could accomplish while teaching students of all races and ages to be proud of their heritage, their abilities, and to believe in what they wanted to do.
Upon moving to Oakland, California, in the late 1970s, Clyde continued his art and developed an individual style of urban homesteading that he used throughout his remaining years. Upon returning to Rochester in the late 1980's, Clyde concentrated his energies on individual accomplishment leaving a legacy of beauty in his gardens, found object art, and collections of all things beautiful. He walked among kings and paupers; the learned and less educated; the beautiful people and the people of the streets. None suspected that he was not one of them. His charisma and joie de vie earned respect from astonished, unsuspecting strangers and love and pride from those who knew him.
His extended family and friends wish to thank all of those who made it possible for Clyde to stay at home and in his garden until he died including the surgeons, nurses, and staff of the Thoracic Team of Strong Memorial Hospital; the Enriched Care Team of the Hospice of Lifetime Care; his home health aide, Tamara; and his devoted neighbors and friends without whom he might not have sat in the warm sunshine under the fig trees of his beloved secret garden while breathing his final breaths.
The Serenity Hills Funeral Chapel , 770 E. Main St., will provide viewing hours from 10AM to 12PM, on Sunday, September 23. A Memorial Service celebrating Clyde's life will follow on that day from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM at The Bridge, formerly The Peoples' Club, 584 Jefferson Avenue, Rochester, NY. Everyone is asked to plant a seed, a bush, or a garden so that you may commune with the Gentle Giant of Joseph Avenue whenever you choose. May he inspire you as he has so many others.