Don Clare of Rabbit Hash passes; ER nurse, historic preservationist, was the heart and soul of community

By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

Don Clare of Rabbit Hash has died.

Clare, 67, was on the board of directors of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society and a longtime president. He was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Rabbit Hash General Store after the 2016 fire, but his contributions to Rabbit Hash, and all of Northern Kentucky, go far beyond that.

Don Clare at the Historic Dinsmore Homestead during the filming of a movie there in 2015 (photo by Mark Hansel).

He was a member of Friends of Big Bone and an active supporter of the Dinsmore Homestead Foundation. He was also a member of the band “Suits That Rock,” although he rarely wore a suit.

Clare passed away at UC Medical Center in Cincinnati Monday evening.

By profession, Clare was an emergency room nurse at St. Elizabeth Healthcare and just retired in the last few years. He has also written and had published three books.

Callie Clare, Don’s daughter, said her dad had a passion for life and history.

“It sounds corny, but everything he did in life, he did it with a love for other people,” she said. “His whole life was about making things better for other people with his job and with everything he did with historic preservation.”

In 2004, more than 30 sets of human remains were discovered in an ancient Native American burial ground during a home renovation in downtown Petersburg. Clare worked tirelessly to help recover the remains and landed on the front page of local publications for his work, something his daughter said was a common occurrence.

“We would joke that he could smell a camera,” Callie Clare said.

Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore said Clare will be long remembered for his passion and dedication to Boone County, especially his love of Rabbit Hash.

“It is with deep sadness that I offer my sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Don Clare as we mourn his passing,” Moore said. “I will forever be grateful to Don for his friendship and contributions to our community.”

Clare enjoying another of his passions, music (photo courtesy of Don’s Facebook page).

In 2010, Clare was awarded the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Service to Preservation Award for his efforts in the preservation of Rabbit Hash.

Clare graduated from Covington Latin School and Thomas More College. He studied at Christ Hospital School of Nursing and began his career there before going to St. Elizabeth.

Terry Foster, an emergency room nurse at St. Elizabeth was a few years behind Clare at Christ Hospital School of Nursing and has been a longtime friend.

Foster said Clare was very folksy and had an endearing quality that put people at ease.

“In the Emergency room you get people from all walks of life and he treated everyone the same,” Foster said. “He was good at getting people to talk and he was good at getting people to calm down. What you saw is what you got.”

Clare had the same passion for his work, Foster said, as he did for everything else in his life.

“He knew a lot about medicine and diagnosis and the physicians very much respected him,” Foster said. “He was so intelligent, but didn’t let on. He was definitely a multi-faceted person, a true renaissance man.”

Clare’s passion for his calling in life was never more evident than during the flood of 1997 when Rabbit Hash was cut off from much of Northern Kentucky.

At a time when many would have welcomed the opportunity to get a few weeks off, Clare would get in a boat and row to his car, so he could go to work every day. That was a big deal at noon when he reported for work, but an even more challenging task in the dark of night, when he rowed back home to be with his family.

Clare’s mother, Virginia Clare, was a nursing director at St. Elizabeth. During the TWA Flight 128 plane crash of 1967, the nurses were on strike, but she assembled everyone and got them all to come in to work.

Don Clare wrote about the incident in a passage from a book on the history of St. Elizabeth and credits his mother for putting him to work as a part-time orderly, which helped fuel his passion for health care.

Callie Clare said her father had been in failing health most of the summer, and doctors recently diagnosed him with congestive heart failure. He had a pacemaker installed and was on blood thinners. She said his health seemed to be improving, but he may have taken a fall Monday night, which might have contributed to his passing.

In addition to Callie, Clare is survived by his wife Susan, daughter Caitlyn Daines (Joe) and two grandchildren, Joey and Clare Daines.

Services are pending.

Note: Cover photo courtesy of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society.

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com