John Clinton Jr.

1944 - 2023

John Hart Clinton Jr.
July 15, 1944 - March 29, 2023
John Hart Clinton, Jr. was born on July 15, 1944 in San Mateo, CA to J. Hart and Helen (née Amphlett) Clinton. A graduate of Park Elementary (he kept up with his Park alumni group throughout his life), Borel Middle School (he also hung onto his Borel beanie), San Mateo High, the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) and Santa Clara University, he held connections to all of his alma maters.
A 30-year resident of San Carlos, he spent most of his career with the San Mateo Times newspaper group, which his family owned, serving as Editor and Publisher of The Times until it was sold in 1996. During this period he served on the boards of a variety of professional, civic and nonprofit associations including the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Rotary Club of San Mateo, and the Peninsula Blood Bank, among others.
He moved back to San Mateo in 2004, shifting his focus toward improving the lives of others, especially in the areas of poverty, homelessness and mental illness. He worked for nonprofits Caminar and the Peninsula Community Foundation, co-founded United American Bank (a local community bank), and served on the board of the San Mateo County Historical Association, where he played a pivotal role in the effort to preserve and restore the Courthouse building, which serves as a community landmark today.
Upon moving to Half Moon Bay in 2014 he took an even deeper interest in underserved communities, working on policy changes, volunteering with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, delivering food to the homeless and ministering to incarcerated individuals. He enjoyed being part of his Catholic parish communities, most notably St. Catherine's of Burlingame, and was inspired by Pope Francis and particularly this quote: "We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is… Life is good when you are happy, but much better when others are happy because of you."
While he would like to be remembered for his good deeds, of which there were many, he will likely also be remembered for his good humor. He was the fun dad, the fun uncle and the fun grandpa. The original early adopter, he was the first in the neighborhood with an Atari system in the 70s and with an iphone in the 2000s, and was a master at gamification, creating incentive systems for everything from household chores to limiting his kids' soda consumption. A skilled magician, he went by The Great Clintoni when performing for family, friends and colleagues. He never missed a chance to rib someone for rooting for a team that rivaled not only his Ducks or Giants, but also any of his teams du jour, as he loved adopting a winning team on the brink of greatness. His grandkids will never forget what they believe to be his most notable accomplishment, that for three days he was ranked #1 in the world on Subway Surfer. His greatest legacy, however, will surely be his marriage of 56 years to his beloved wife, Nina. College sweethearts, they celebrated life's great times and held each other up during challenging ones, always by each other's side. He kept her laughing until the very end.
John died on March 29, 2023, surrounded by loved ones, following a relatively brief illness. Preceded in death by his two sisters Mary Jane Clinton Zirkel and Mary Ann Gardner and their husbands, he is survived by Nina; his three children John Clinton of Denver, CO, Allison Rak of San Carlos, CA and Nicole Medina of Castle Rock, CO; sons-in-law Adam Rak and Eric Medina; seven grandchildren: Phoebe, Jane and Lydia Rak, Noah, Lucy and Lily Medina, and Mia Clinton; his exchange student son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Rachel Heslehurst, his sister- and brother-in-law, Susan and Tom Lisi, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, April 13 at 10am at St. Catherine of Siena church in Burlingame.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the San Mateo County Historical Association or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.