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Truman Clare learned early to heed his mother’s advice.
When he complained of bullies, she told him to go to the YMCA and learn to box. He became a featherweight Golden Gloves champ.
Her career advice: Learn shorthand; you can always get a job.
His skills led to a World War II Army job. After the war, he taught shorthand to returning GIs.
But Clare learned on his own to deal with prejudice.
“I experienced discrimination early in life, and I didn’t like it. I don’t like to see discrimination against others,” the Irish-Catholic Clare told the Midlands Business Journal in a 1989 interview.
His motto was, “Try to help your fellow man,” said his daughter. “He lived it. It was in everything he did. He was adamant to make sure people were treated fairly.”
Truman Clare died March 1 at a hospital in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla., said his daughter, Dr. Jeanne Nolan of San Francisco. Clare was 88 and died of complications from a broken hip, she said.
Clare was the first partner Ephraim Marks took on, forming the Omaha firm Marks and Clare, Attorneys at Law, in 1953. Today, the firm is called Marks Clare & Richards.
But Clare, who left Omaha for Florida eight years ago, was more than just an attorney. He also was a certified public accountant and specialized in business and tax law.
He graduated from the University of Nebraska, Creighton University School of Law and Northwestern University. He earned a master’s in business administration from Northwestern.
Clare was a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Knights of Columbus. He served on the building committee for the Jewish Community Center, raised money for the Jewish Federation’s bonds for Israel, and helped the Jesuit Catholic religious order, his daughter said.
“Whenever people needed help, that’s where he was. He was exactly what you’d want someone to be,” Nolan said. “You could always count on him.”
Other survivors include his wife of 66 years, Rosemary Minton Clare of St. Petersburg Beach; daughters Marianne Clare and Denise Clare, both of Omaha; son John Clare of Clearwater, Fla.; and three grandchildren. Another son, Joseph, preceded Truman Clare in death.
Services for Clare were Monday at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Omaha.
Contact the writer:
444-1165, sue.truax@owh.com
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