Clarence W. Boone, Sr. 1931–2020 Obstetrician/Gynecologist, U.S. Air Force
By Aaron Williams
Clarence Wayne Boone was born on August 27, 1931. He graduated from Froebel High in Gary, IN, in 1949. He earned in 1953 a B.S. degree in anatomy and physiology from Indiana
mittee Member of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. He was a 55-year devoted member and leader in the St. Timothy Community Church. Boone had a long and sustained support of his alma mater . He served as chair of the I.U. Alumni Association in 1997-98 and became a Life Director for the IU Foundation. Boone was a co-founder of the IU Neal-Marshall Alumni Club, serving as national president in 1984-85, and served on the Advisory Council to the Dean of the IU School of Medicine. Also, he was a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council for IU Northwest and a gubernatorial appointee to the IU Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2007. IU honored Boone in 2003 with its Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the highest IU accolade for alumni. In recognition of his legacy of service and philanthropy to Indi- ana University, the Indiana University School of Medicine unveiled in May of 2018 the Dr. Clarence Boone Lecture Room on the Indiana University North- west campus. Brother Clarence W. Boone, Sr. was preceded in death by his parents, Mae Frances Marion, and William Marion; brother James Boone; and his daughter Terri Elaine Boone. He is survived by his devoted wife of 66 years, Blanche (nee Lane) Boone, two sons, Clarence Wayne (Ann Marie) Boone Jr. (Alpha 1978) and Brian Kevin (Lisa) Boone, seven grandchildren (Michael, Melony, McKinley, Marisa, Matthew, Aniya, and Alayna, one great granddaughter, Aaliyah, and one sister-in-law, Linda Nash (Billy).
A lifelong resident of Gary, IN, Dr. Clarence W. Boone, Sr., obstetrician/gynecologist, served the medical needs of Northwest Indiana communities for nearly half a century. Dr. Roland Walker, a pediatrician and Gary’s public health director, noted about Boone, “He was one of the first African American physicians to run a practice in Gary.” Boone was closely associated with Indiana University-Bloomington (IU) and the Indiana University North- west School of Medicine. Dr. Patrick Bankston, the head of Indiana Univer- sity Northwest’s school of medicine, said on Boone, “IUSM-NW-Gary was founded in 1972 with four students and four faculty members. Many of us would not be here if it were not for Dr. Clarence Boone. He and several other doctors in the area had the idea for a medical school here at I.U.N., and they put things together and created the legislation that created the medical school.” Longtime Gary, IN physician, Brother Clarence W. Boone, Sr. (Alpha 1950) entered the Chapter Invisible af- ter a short illness on October 31, 2020. Matt Doyle, Methodist Hospitals presi- dent and C.E.O., said about Boone. “… was an important figure in the success of Methodist Hospitals over many decades. His skill and wisdom helped bring needed care to the people of Gary and Northwest Indiana, and we are grateful for his leadership and service.”
University-Bloomington. At IU, Boone fell under the wing of I.U. President and Chancellor Herman B. Wells housed Boone at his own residence, monitor- ing his progress and supporting him. President Wells is mentioned frequently in The Story of Kappa Alpha Psi . Wells, a social progressive, dismantled many of IU’s discriminatory policies and oversaw IU’s greatest enrollment growth. Boone, in an interview years ago, “He (Wells) was encouraging… outside of providing a place to eat and sleep, he was like a father away from home. Through the years, he followed me and kept me in his mind. I am what I am today because of IU.” He stayed the following year in Bloomington to continue his education in medical school. When he entered the Indiana University School of Medicine, he was one of only five African Ameri- cans and the only one to graduate in four years. He was also a captain in the U.S. Air Force. A member of the Gary (IN) Alumni Chapter, Boone was president of both the Lake County and National Medi- cal Association, Medical Director for Planned Parenthood of Northwest Indiana and held lifetime memberships in the N.A.A.C.P. and the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Boone was also president of the Medical Staff of Methodist Hospital, president of the Lake County Medical Society, chairman of the Department of Obstet- rics and Gynecology at Gary Methodist Hospital, and National Medical Com-
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