Clippard, namesake of local school, dies at 90

The namesake of a Cape Girardeau school has died.

Charles C. Clippard died Friday. He was 90.

Clippard was a longtime principal at Hawthorn Elementary School, 2800 Hopper Road, and upon his retirement in 1991, the school district's board voted to rename the school in his honor.

"I'm not sure the full impact has sunk in yet," he said in an interview with the Southeast Missourian in May 1991. "This is the greatest honor any school district can bestow. I never, ever, even in my wildest dreams, thought this was a consideration. I'm not that worthy, but I'm very grateful."

James Clippard said Friday his father was humble about the honor.

"He was the last person to crow about anything he did," James Clippard said in a telephone interview. "But it felt, to the family, wonderful to see a father figure we could respect and undertand the community had so much respect for him."

James Clippard explained his father's career in education came at a time of change, with new "experimental" techniques gaining popularity. Charles Clippard created and employed a number of such techniques, James Clippard said, recounting travels to educational seminars and conventions. Charles Clippard spoke of his work in 1991.

"The buzzwords at that time were team teaching, ungraded and open classrooms," he told the Missourian. "Instead of self-contained classroom and competitive grading systems, we loosened up that structure. Teachers work together. In turn, they learn from each other, and the students are exposed to different experiences and expertise."

State Rep. Kathy Swan said Charles Clippard served two generations of her family.

"I was a student of his, and so were my children," she said in a telephone interview.

Swan described the educator as student-focused.

"He was extremely kind, very fair and always ready to do anything he could to help those children," she noted. "He was a great example of a teacher and a principal and just as an individual."

She recounted a story of a time when her son, Regan, had been injured in an ATV accident and had to wear a cast on one leg. Needing a ride home from school one day, the principal brought him himself.

"You are a pretty special person when you have a school building named after you. You have some pretty big shoes to fill," she said.

After retiring, Charles Clippard lived a quiet life, his son said.

"He primarily has enjoyed living on a piece of property that he owns, part of the farm he was born on," he explained.

A long-term health issue with his daughter, Mary, led Charles Clippard to caring for her for a number of years, James Clippard said -- another example of his father's selflessness.

However, true to his love of the outdoors and helping others, Charles Clippard worked for a number of years at the Walmart Supercenter in Cape Girardeau, in the sporting goods section, helping others pursue their favored hobbies.

"He liked talking with people and helping other people," James Clippard said.

Born Jan. 1, 1930, Charles Clippard graduated from Southeast Missouri State College in 1956. He taught sixth grade at May Greene School for five years before becoming principal at Lorimier School and then Franklin School. Five years into his career as an administrator, he took over as principal at Hawthorn School, which would eventually bear his name. Upon his retirement, he reflected on the lessons he had learned.

"These have been marvelous years," he said. "I've done lots of growing, maturing and learning because of my association with so many fine teachers and wonderful people. I hope that has rubbed off."