Clara McClure

1929 - 2022

Clara McClure

1929 - 2022

LOPEZ ISLAND, WA - Clara McClure passed away on June 8, 2022, at the age of 92, at Lopez Island, Washington.

Clara lived a long life of engagement in her community and the world, leaving behind not only many friends and family, but a legacy of activism.

Clara Louise Wallace was born in Clinton, Tennessee, on November 5, 1929, the eldest child of Homer Houston Wallace and Bessie May Hargis Wallace. She treasured her family's home on the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Her lifelong love of wild forests began there.

Clara met fellow student George T. McClure at the University of Tennessee, marrying in March 1950. Both later pursued graduate degrees at Ohio State University in Columbus. Daughter Wendy was born there in June 1957. Daughter Laura was born in Carbondale, Illinois, in May 1959, after George began teaching philosophy at Southern Illinois University.

Clara spent most of her long working life at the Jackson County Mental Health Clinic in Carbondale, providing support for chronically mentally ill adults. There she met Noreen Salzman, who became like a third daughter.

Clara loved hiking in the hills and valleys of Southern Illinois, joining George and several friends for hikes throughout the area. She was a lifelong environmentalist, active in Sierra Club for decades. She was also a determined feminist. Together with friends, Clara helped found the Women's Center in Carbondale in 1972. Active as well in the Civil Rights Movement, she helped establish Carbondale's Eurma C. Hayes Center.

When she first came to Carbondale, Clara began working with the League of Women Voters, continuing her engagement in local and state politics until her last years. She was a long-serving precinct committeeperson and was elected Carbondale Township Supervisor in 1989.

Throughout her life, Clara was never without a book. She was on the library board and was a member of two reading groups that persisted for decades.

Clara had two loving partners in her life: George McClure, her partner for 42 years until his death in 1992, and Stan Harris, her partner until he died in 2020 (at 102).

Stan and Clara enjoyed 25 years of shared life together as travel companions, theatre fans, and activists - they lived life fully. Clara was adopted into the extended Harris/Adams/Sai family and later resided with them. After Stan passed away, Clara relocated to an adult family home, Hamlet House, on Lopez Island, WA, where Wendy lives.

Clara is survived by daughters Wendy McClure and Laura McClure, son-in-law Michael Kaufman, and her third daughter Noreen Salzman; grandson Gavin Iosso; sister Dorothy Howell, brother William Wallace, and sister-in-law Julie Wallace; and nieces Nora and Lisa Wallace. We also extend sympathies to many other loved ones whom Clara considered family. Clara leaves us inspired, leading by example on paths toward social justice, environmental stewardship, and an appreciation of music, books, and the natural world. We are so grateful to have known her.

A memorial is planned for September in Carbondale. Memorial gifts can be made to the Survivor Empowerment Center (formerly Carbondale Women's Center) or to The Nature Conservancy.

See this extended remembrance of Clara McClure: https://tinyurl.com/287tz43t.