Clare Marie Hanusz

Clare Marie Hanusz, a force of nature and infinite goodness, passed away at her Honolulu, Hawai'i home on February 24 after a valiant two-year battle with cancer. She was 54 years old. A tireless and devoted advocate for immigrants and the dispossessed, she is survived by her husband of 30 years, Dr. Nevzat Soguk; her beloved children, Alissandro and Derya Hanusz-Soguk; brothers Paul, Mark, and John (Melanie Breen); and a host of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins across the country. Clare's definition of family was hardly constrained by biology, however. Anyone who had the good fortune of meeting Clare essentially became a member of her extended family, and had in Clare a friend, comrade, and champion. She is predeceased by her parents, Richard and Patricia Hanusz, and her sister, Gina Shick, from whom she inherited her deep and abiding determination to making the world a better place. If there was anyone who left the world a better place, it was surely Clare Hanusz.

A proud daughter of Toledo, Ohio, Clare grew up in the Old West End, a diverse and colorful community. Clare remained close with many of her childhood friends from that neighborhood as an adult. She attended Central Catholic High School, where she became a proud member of the self-styled "Road Crew," a group of friends who continue to gather annually to renew their friendship and engage in various shenanigans.

Clare attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she immersed herself in activism, student politics (RIP the FISH party), and Latin American studies. She traveled extensively throughout Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador in college, where she witnessed firsthand the devastation wreaked by American foreign policy. As an undergraduate student, Clare became well known to the political science faculty, one of whom (unbeknownst to Clare) endeavored to set her up with a dashing graduate student named Nevzat. After Nevzat dutifully attended all of Clare's slideshows of her Central American adventures, the two bonded over their love of learning and politics, and their shared determination to make a difference in the lives of their fellow human beings. After marrying in 1992, the couple moved to Phoenix. While Nevzat was working on his doctorate at Arizona State, Clare landed her dream job with the Valley Religious Task Force on Central America, where she worked with undocumented individuals in that community for the next three years.

A job offer at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa brought the young couple to Honolulu, where Alissandro and Derya were born in quick succession in 2001 and 2003. A fixture of faculty housing for more than 15 years, Clare welcomed friends and relatives from all over the world to their small apartment, where kids came and went freely, much like her childhood home in the Old West End. In 1996, Clare entered UH's William S. Richardson School of Law, following the path of her father and youngest brother, both of whom practiced law. Graduating in 1999, she specialized in immigration law, once again advocating on behalf of those fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries. Clare quickly developed a reputation for being one of the state's foremost experts on asylum law and policy and was often called upon by media outlets to explain this complex and politically charged subject. Clare also became a statewide leader in the fight for quality public education as part of the leadership of Save Our Schools. Never one to pass up a protest, Clare and her children were part of a group that occupied Gov. Linda Lingle's office after the governor cut 17 days from the 2009-10 school year as a budgetary cost-cutting measure. After working at various nonprofits and law firms in Honolulu (and relocating to Melbourne, Australia for 18 months), she opened her own law practice, Aloha Immigration, in 2017. Clare's practice became known as the go-to firm for immigrants seeking to become citizens and legal residents - or avoid deportation - in Hawai'i. She continued to forcefully advocate for individuals well after being diagnosed with cancer in December 2020, and throughout what was often a brutal course of treatment. Clare being Clare, she maintained a sunny disposition despite the pain. She never, ever complained of the pain that she suffered. Although it consumed her body, she refused to let it consume her soul. Her indomitable spirit remains.

The family will hold a celebration of Clare's life in Honolulu on March 19, what would have been her 55th birthday. Please send an email to celebrateclarehanusz@gmail.com for details. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in Clare's memory to Kesem Berkeley (https://donate.kesem.org/fundraiser/4211322); The Legal Clinic (https://thelegalclinichawaii.org/donate/); and Parents for Public Schools - Hawai'i (https://ppshi.org/donate).

In a final act of charity, Clare has chosen to donate her body to UH's John H. Burns School of Medicine for the advancement of science and medicine.