Donald James Clausing

Donald James Clausing passed away on September 12, 2018 in the San Francisco home he loved, after a brave battle with non-small cell lung cancer.

Don was born on September 27, 1946 in Coffeyville, KS, a place he often described as “the place you’ve never heard of.” That small city and others in that southeast corner of Kansas served as a de facto summer base for Don and his brothers during their many moves as a military family, and meant time spent with a host of cousins who have all remained close.

A fortuitous posting to Hanover, NH for his father allowed Don to attend and graduate in 1964 from Hanover High School, to fall in love with a classmate, Emmy Chamberlain whom he married in 1968, and to discover Dartmouth College where he received a B.A. in English Literature in 1968. After graduation he served two years of active duty in the U.S. Army as a second then first lieutenant, then attended graduate school at the University of Michigan where he earned a Master of Museum Practice degree in 1973.

A love of aviation was planted in him by many childhood trips to local airports with his father to watch planes take off and land. Aviation eventually lured him away from the world of museum work, and he pursued the many licenses necessary to fly those machines he had seen as a child. He retired in 2006 from a long career at American Trans Air where he was a captain and check airman, work that took him all over the world and which he adored.

After many years in Northampton, MA where they raised their daughters Nicole and Hilary, he and Emmy moved to San Francisco in 2001 and reveled in the food, wine, and culture of that city. The ability to play golf all year long was a welcome gift. Don and Emmy traveled as often as possible to France and Italy, using the languages they delighted in acquiring. Don remained a learned tour guide in the European museums he loved.

His oldest daughter, Nicole, sums up the family’s experience well: “We have lost not just our rock, but our master griller, our walking reference guide to lines from the movie Airplane, and the last non-hipster in the Bay Area to own a camera that shoots film.”

No memorial service is planned in the Bay Area. Per his wishes, Don’s ashes will be inurned at the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date. In his last weeks he said he would look forward to the planes that fly over Arlington many times a day. Don was predeceased by his father, LTC Gerald A. Clausing (Ret), and his two brothers, Dean and Stephen Clausing. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Emmy, of San Francisco; daughters Nicole (Pipi) and Hilary Clausing, all of Oakland; his mother, Winifred Hargrove Clausing of Ft. Belvoir, VA; sister-in-law Blandine Clausing; nephew Ingmar Clausing; and niece Silke Smith (Evan).

The family thanks Dr. Alan Kramer and the office of San Francisco Oncology for their kind and skillful care during his cancer treatment, and the Sutter Care at Home hospice team. Gifts in Don’s memory may be made to Dartmouth College (checks to: Trustees of Dartmouth College; Trustees of Dartmouth College, 6066 Development Office, Hanover, NH 03755); or Sutter Care at Home hospice services (checks to: Sutter Care at Home; Sutter Care at Home San Francisco Branch, attn. gift processing, PO Box 160045, Sacramento, CA 95831), or a charity of one’s choice.