Clarence Donald Babers

1946 - 2020

Clarence Donald Babers
June 23, 1946 - November 2, 2020
Fort Worth, Texas - A great man gone far too soon. Don Babers answered the call to be with the Lord on Monday, November 2, 2020. A true man of distinction, a sage leader, a mentor, a muse, a devoted husband, a proud protective father and a doting brother are a few words that sum up the magnitude of Don's character. Mr. Babers' enormous legacy is a void that will be impossible to be filled or replaced. Anyone that knew and met him can no doubt say that they have been truly honored and blessed to have shared time and space and crossed paths with such a noble spirit.
Don was born to the proud parentage of Maggie and George Babers on June 23, 1946, on the Northside of Fort Worth, Texas. Don matriculated through Milton L. Kirkpatrick elementary, middle and high schools. Don went on to study and achieve his Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington from 1965-1969, where he was one of the first African American students admitted to the campus post desegregation. While he was there, he and 12 other jewels founded the Devastating Zeta Chi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc, on December 22, 1969, paving the road for future men of distinction to crossover and form a bonded brotherhood that can never be broken. With a degree in hand and a heart full of passion to help the people, Don was offered an opportunity to fulfill his lifelong dream of working in the public sector of the government with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In June of 1970, Don started with HUD as an intern working in the Fort Worth office. He was then transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas from 1971-1975, to work as an Equal Opportunity Specialist where he then became the Acting Director of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. In July of 1971, he married the love of his life Ms. Shiela Guinn and made her Mrs. Babers. As fate would have it, he was transferred back to his hometown of Fort Worth where he held numerous managerial positions and would later go on to manage the Dallas office of HUD between 1975 through 2005. With Hurricane Katrina, the HUD Secretary appointed Mr. Babers as Recovery Advisor/Chairman of the Board of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), in which he oversaw the herculean task of restructuring and reorganizing New Orleans' "Big Four" public housing developments which were deemed to be unlivable by Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Babers tirelessly worked in New Orleans for four years to ensure that those that were displaced would be provided modern and safe housing. Mr. Babers was up against formidable conditions in a highly charged environment at the time, but his pragmatic leadership style and altruistic nature for the greater good of the people allowed him to form dynamic partnerships between Federal, State, City agencies, officials, legislators, private and non-profit organizations, residents and the national media. In 2006 his actions in New Orleans and his distinguished track record earned him the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, the highest award a career federal civil servant can receive. Mr. Babers was also instrumental in helping several tenants win class action housing discrimination lawsuits in East Texas in his tenure. In 2010, Mr. Babers was tapped by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to serve as HUD's Acting Southwest Regional Director for Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma which entailed him to oversee the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities and evaluate their effectiveness. Mr. Babers acted in this capacity until he "retired" after 42 years of faithful service in June of 2012 with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As you can imagine, retirement was far from Mr. Babers plans. In late June 2012, he used his cumulative years of housing know-how and conceived the Babers Group Incorporated which was his way of providing expertise to the communities of Fort Worth and Dallas at large, to aid in disaster preparation and disaster recovery as well as speaking engagements which he looked forward too. Mr. Babers was an esteemed member of the Dallas Mortgage Bankers Association, the Dallas Realtor Lender Committee, the Dallas Board of Realtors and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, amongst others
Spiritually, Brother Babers grew up in the historic Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church under the patronage of the late great Albert E Chew. Mr. Babers served proudly as a chairman of the deacon board as well as on the finance committee.
Socially, Mr. Babers was an Archon in the Delta Mu Boule Chapter of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity as well as a lifelong member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Mr. Babers leaves his mourning wife Shiela of 49 years, daughters Thalassia (Yves) Mombeleur, Amena Babers, son Timothy (Starlet) Burleson, sisters Billye Johnson, Verita Mann, brother Elvis (Sonia) Babers, grandchildren Gabriel, McKinley, Sydney and Dylan Dews, Ysa and Teige Mombeleur, Timothy Burleson Jr, a host of cousins, nephews and friends.
Memorials: Donations can be made to The C. Donald Babers Memorial Scholarship Fund. Checks can be made to the University of Texas at Arlington. ATTN: Brady Minor, Director of Development for University Initiatives, University Advancement, 701 S. Nedderman Drive Box 19198 Arlington, TX 76019-0198. Brady.minor@uta.edu or 254.722.2302
Visitation: Tuesday November 17th and Wednesday November 18th from 1pm-6pm at Baker Funeral Home.
Burial: Private internment