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Paul James Clare MAT ’70

Paul grew up in Bayfield, Wisconsin, moved with his parents to Los Angeles, and in 1946 was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving as a U.S. Army lab tech in Germany. 

Returning home, Paul enrolled at the University of Southern California, and married Louise Clark. In 1952, he graduated from USC with both a bachelor’s and a master’s in microbiology, and then pursued a PhD at Oregon State University. He landed a job at the King County Health Department and then the Washington State Health Department. His son, Jeff, was born in 1957. Lucky Lager (General Brewing Corp.) hired Paul, and for the next 13 years he worked as a brew master. He returned to school, graduating from ºìÌÒÊÓƵ with a Master in Arts in Teaching in 1970. He appreciated that ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s small classes taught him the value of small-group interaction, allowing him to question and challenge more.

He began teaching biology, interdisciplinary studies, and a variety of environmentally related classes at Portland’s Adams High School, and completed graduate work for a counseling certificate in 1974, after which he served as a counseler at Adams High School, Ockley Green Middle School, and Jefferson High School until 1988.

Paul loved the outdoors and helped found three outdoor groups: the Ptarmigans, the Loo Wit chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Chinook Trail Association. With his family he spent many days hiking, backpacking, and camping around the Northwest. He was also active in the Clark County Master Gardeners program, and took classes at Clark Community College, where he was on the advisory board of Mature Learning and taught environmental classes.

Paul was a cofounder of Recovery North West alcohol and drug treatment, and served for 10 years on the Columbia River Mental Health Services board. He was both a trustee and member of Michael Servetus Unitarian Fellowship, and delighted in sharing his experiences and the knowledge he had gained with others. Volunteering was a part of his life, and he gave time for everything from trail building and testifying before a House committee for the North Cascades National Park to serving the hungry and homeless through Share House. He stayed active until the last six months of his life, when Parkinson’s slowed him down.

He is survived by Louise, his wife of 66 years, and son, Jeff. 

Appeared in ºìÌÒÊÓƵ magazine: September 2016