Dr. Wallace Bruce Clift Jr.

1926 - 2018

The Rev. Dr. Wallace Bruce Clift Jr. The Rev. Dr. Wallace Bruce Clift Jr., priest, professor, author, traveler, and loving patriarch, passed away peacefully in his home in Olympia on February 5, 2018, at age 91. Wallace Clift was born March 27, 1926 in Robert Lee, Texas. He went to University of Texas at age 17. In 1944, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving in intelligence and helping Korea's education ministry transition to independence. He returned in 1948 and completed his bachelor's degree in 1949. After earning a law degree from Harvard University, he worked in Washington D.C. for a year before joining Baker, Botts, Andrews, & Parish in Houston. There he met the love of his life, fellow attorney Jean Dalby. They got engaged a week after their first date and married on January 23, 1954. Wallace and Jean were active at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, and four years later they left to attend seminary at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. After earning a Master of Divinity degree in 1960, Wallace returned to Houston, was ordained deacon, then priest in 1961, and served as vicar of Grace Church and the Church of the Resurrection until 1964. A lifelong love of learning led the Rev. Clift to attend Agnes Sanford's School of Pastoral Care and the first American Association of Pastoral Counselors conference in 1963, and to explore the psychology of Carl Jung. In 1964, Wallace and Jean received a joint grant to study at C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, where Wallace worked with analyst Jolande Jacobi. They returned after two years, and Wallace earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology of religion at the University of Chicago. Dr. Clift taught psychology of religion at the University of Denver from 1969 to 1992, serving as chair of the department for many years. He helped start a joint Ph.D. program with Iliff School of Theology in 1981. He co-founded the Jung Society of Colorado in 1976. Wallace remained active as a priest, as associate clergy at St. John's Cathedral, serving on diocesan commissions, celebrating the marriage of all three children and a grandchild, and baptizing his descendants. After retirement from the University of Denver in 1992, Dr. Clift was appointed Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado and invited to head the Anglican Studies program at St. Thomas Theological Seminary. When St. Thomas closed in 1995, Dr. Clift helped negotiate the program's move to the Iliff School of Theology. In 2000, Bette Lanning endowed a Wallace B. and Jean Dalby Clift scholarship for students in Iliff's Anglican Studies program. In 2002, Wallace was named Canon Theologian Emeritus. The Church Divinity School of the Pacific awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2003. Wallace Clift's first book, Jung and Christianity, was published in 1982, frequently reprinted, and translated to Korean. With wife Jean, he wrote Symbols of Transformation in Dreams (1984), The Hero Journey in Dreams (1988), and The Archetype of Pilgrimage (1996). Wallace published two books of spiritual guidance, Journey Into Love: Road Signs Along the Way (1990) and How to Make Love and Other Godly Thoughts (2012), as well as articles and encyclopedia entries. Throughout his life, Dr. Clift gave lectures and workshops throughout the world. Boundless curiosity took him to all seven continents, 93 countries, and every state. In 2012 Wallace and Jean moved to Olympia to be near family. Despite declining health, Wallace retained his humor, his courtesy, his love of family, and his faith in God until the end. Wallace Clift is survived and deeply missed by his beloved wife of 64 years, the Rev. Dr. Jean Dalby Clift; children Anne Clift Boris (John), Lucy Clifthorne (Michael), and Bruce Clift (Karin); grandchildren Sarah Clifthorne (Scott), Evan Clifthorne (Alexandra), Dylan Clifthorne, David Boris, Stephen Boris, and Rachel Clift; and great-grandchildren Emerson, Elliot and Edward Michael Clifthorne. A memorial service will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church, Olympia, March 17 at 4 pm. Memorial gifts may be made to the Wallace B. and Jean Dalby Clift Scholarship Fund at the Iliff School of Theology, Denver (iliff.edu/give with "Clift Scholarship" in memo) or St. John's Episcopal Church, Olympia (stjohnsoly.org/).