Clarence L. Hein

Clarence L. Hein
Nov. 28, 1939 - June 3, 2023
Clarence L. Hein, longtime Public Communications Director for Portland State University, died of respiratory failure Saturday, June 3, 2023 in San Diego, Calif. He was 83.
Clarence Hein received his bachelor's degree from Portland State in 1965, serving as student editor of the Vanguard from 1964-65. After receiving his master's degree in communications from the University of Washington (1968), his career in journalism eventually brought him back to campus, joining PSU as the director of News and Information Services in 1978.
He served under five university presidents, researching and writing everything from speeches to legislative testimony to magazine articles. He retired in 2001, and continued to assist the Portland State University Archives as a volunteer. He took to heart the school's mission to "serve the city," and described its diversity as among its great strengths.
Clarence's journalism work included eventful stints at WABC-TV in New York and KOMO-TV in Seattle, preceded by writing work for the Portland Reporter, a union-supported daily. He also worked in communications for Seattle Public Schools in the 1970s.
It was while working for another newspaper, Portland's Jefferson High School Jeffersonian, that he met his first wife, Jean Harvey. They married after Clarence returned from his Navy service, and remained married until her death in 1984.
Clarence's work at Portland State allowed him to meet Rebecca Wolcott, who he married in 1990, and with whom he lived in Portland until her death in 2018. They traveled widely, and enjoyed sampling Oregon wines with excellent long-term friends.
Among Clarence's passions was the Great American Songbook. He often sprinkled his conversation with the lyrics of Ira Gershwin or Frank Loesser. Crosswords similarly provided an outlet for his exacting vocabulary and linguistic facility.
Over his two decades of retirement, the beneficiaries of Clarence's wit and kindness were frequently casual acquaintances, or even strangers. For instance: in his 70s, he and Rebecca rode one of San Francisco's more storied public buses–on Halloween. They reached their downtown hotel after befriending several inebriated young hipsters.
He was always interested in other people's experiences and expertise, and his genuine concern had the added effect of charming a whole new population upon his 2020 move to San Diego.
Clarence is immediately survived by daughter, Susan; son, Matthew, and daughter-in-law, Casey Quinlan.
Remembrances may be made in his name to PSU's Deborah Murdock Endowed Scholarship Fund for public service, and the Wilma Morrison Scholarship for journalism.
Please sign the online guest book at www.oregonlive.com/obits