Clareann Bunker

TUCSON/PITTSBURGH/BAR HARBOR: Clareann H. Bunker, MPH, PhD, 84, died unexpectedly November 20, 2024, in Tucson, AZ. She was born December 6, 1939, in Columbus, OH, the eldest child of Albert and Betty (McDonald) Hess.

Clare spent her early childhood in Susquehanna, PA, and moved to Natick, MA, where she graduated High School in 1957 as valedictorian. Clare graduated from Wellesley College in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in zoology.

Fulfilling her wish to live in a "little town by the sea," Clare moved to Bar Harbor, ME, to take a position at the Jackson Laboratory as a Professional Research Assistant. There she met and married Merrill "Tinker" Bunker in 1962, with whom she raised three children. Together, they built Spruce Valley Campground in Town Hill in 1969. Though this relationship wasn't permanent, they remained lifelong friends.

During an Appalachian Trail Club outing in 1990, she met William Lindgren. Both avid hikers and adventurers, they spent the next 34 years enjoying at least three adventures a day, often arranging for their family, friends, and colleagues to join them.

Clare was quiet about her accomplishments, but they were spectacular. Clare was passionate about people and helping to improve people's lives. She was the founding Executive Director of The Maine Center for Human Genetics, providing genetic counselling services from 1974 until 1981. During this time, Clare served as faculty for the Short Course in Human Genetics at the Jackson Laboratory, where she met Dr. Helen Abbey, a biostatistics professor at Johns Hopkins University, who inspired Clare to earn a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in 1980. Clare earned her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh in 1984, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Pitt in Cardiovascular Disease and Epidemiology. In 1987 she joined the faculty of the Department of Epidemiology in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.

Clare was a trailblazer, advancing medical research across the globe. Her studies in Nigeria paved the way for improved understanding of cardiac disease risk factors and prevention. Clare initiated a large cohort study in Tobago that initially focused on prostate cancer but expanded to include women and other outcomes, including skeletal, metabolic, cardiovascular, and cognitive health. This cohort study continues her legacy in Tobago by providing a foundation for ongoing research. Clare also initiated The Longitudinal Indian Family hEalth (LIFE) longitudinal cohort study in Telangana State, India, and was the Principal Investigator of a Fogarty International grant focused on empowering Indian researchers.

Clare's research program included mentoring dozens of PhD and Master's Degree students, including at Pitt and around the globe in Nigeria, Cameroon, Trinidad, Tobago, and India.

Clare received numerous accolades and awards, including membership in the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, a Distinguished Alumni award from Pitt, and a Caribbean Public Health Agency award for Outstanding Contributions in Cancer Epidemiology in the Caribbean. Her research was funded by The National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health, among others. Clare published a total of 189 scientific papers in top tier medical journals. Clare retired from the University of Pittsburgh in 2016 as emeritus professor. She continued collaborating, researching, publishing, and mentoring throughout her retirement.

As Mum to her children and Nanny to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Clare was always there. Despite the fact that her family is spread across the United States, she could always be found at a grandchild's play, dance recital or baseball game, attending every graduation, or leading a nature hike wherever they happened to be. She eagerly joined in the fun for literally everything. Her adventures took her near and far. From hiking across England, climbing the Grand Tetons, traveling to China, or heading to a Grateful Dead concert with one of the kids, she took every opportunity she could to be with her children, grandchildren, and loved ones.

As a friend, Clare was always up for an adventure (or three if her partner, Bill, had his way). Whether coordinating concert or basketball tickets, enjoying dinner and a movie, setting up Zoom calls with her Wellesley College friends, or attending Reading Group, she was on the go.

In her retirement, Clare loved watercolor painting and drawing, especially in and around her winter home in Tucson, the Catalina Mountains, and the Sonoran Desert. Clare enjoyed all forms of music and the arts - especially her annual summertime trips with Bill to the Marlboro Music Festival and to Tanglewood. She was an avid fan of the University of Arizona women's basketball and softball teams.

Mum was the strongest person we ever knew. She was brilliantly smart, hilariously funny, loved all of us fiercely, and did everything in her power to be the best Mum one could ask for.

Clare is survived by her three children: Ann Durost and son-in-law Paul of China, ME; Daniel Bunker and daughter-in-law Deborah Elman of New York City and Sullivan, ME; and Andrew Barney Bunker and daughter-in-law Jen Leithauser of Bayfield, CO. She also leaves behind five grandchildren: Amy Sylvester and her husband Alexander and Nathan Sylvester and his wife Madelyn Brackett, all of China, ME; Mason Bunker and his partner Ben Schmandt of Somerville, MA; and Jordan and Jack Bunker of Bayfield, CO; as well as two great-grandchildren, Ronan and Quinn Sylvester of China, ME.

Additionally, Clare is survived by her brothers: Frank Hess and sister-in-law Nancy of Sherborn, MA; John Hess and sister-in-law Carol of Oak Bluffs, MA; and Jay Hess of New Bedford, MA; Bill's family, including sisters Mary Jean Lunne and Kay Lindgren, both of Tucson, AZ, who were like sisters to Clare; her lifelong best friends who were always there through thick and thin, Sally Crock and Carol Woolman, both of Bar Harbor, ME; as well as numerous other loved ones and countless friends.

Clare was predeceased by her parents, Albert and Betty Hess; her partner of 34 years, William Lindgren; her former spouse and father of her children, Merrill Bunker; and her lifelong best friend, Melba Wilson.

Clare accumulated, added, adopted, shared, and loved a beautiful collection of people from literally every corner of the globe. These family, friends, and loved ones are an enduring testament to the wonderful person Clare was. We thank you all for loving her so well and so much.

A celebration of Clareann's life will be held Monday, May 26th, 2025 at 2:00pm at the Hulls Cove Schoolhouse in Bar Harbor, ME, the little town by the sea where she raised her children and which she considered home.

Clare would encourage you to take every opportunity to tell people that you love them, to get in at least three adventures a day, to get back up and keep going if you fall, and to always keep a tissue, pen and paper, and an extra grocery bag handy. As her granddaughter so eloquently put it, "Nanny really was a badass." We love you oodles, Mum.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate in her name to Peoples' Symphony Concerts, whose mission is to provide classical music performances of the highest caliber at affordable ticket prices and to provide opportunities for up and coming musicians. Many of these concerts include young musicians from the Marlboro Music Festival, which Clare and Bill attended each year with many friends and family. Donations in her name can be made at: www.pscny.org/clareann