Clare Creighton Howell, 79, died Saturday, July 6, 2019 at her home in Brunswick, Maine of natural causes.
She was born on May 20, 1940 in Boston, MA, child of John Creighton and Margaret Hellier Howell. After John Creighton’s death, Margaret remarried in 1947 to John Howell who helped raise Clare from 7 years of age. They lived in Denver, Colorado.
Clare graduated with a Bachelors of Arts Degree (Spanish and Political Science) from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1962. She attended Mills College (’58, ’60, ’68) in California. She also did all the course work as a Graduate for a Masters of Art in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (’63-’65).
Clare loved books, which became her life. In 1964-‘67, Clare went to Washington, DC to work for Senator Peter Dominick of Colorado. After one year as a researcher with a government public relations firm, she soon became the major book buyer for the famous Saville Books in Georgetown. In 1973, Clare moved to Damariscotta, Maine to work for the Maine Coast Book shop, feeling that she was back “home” in Maine. She opened her own bookshop, “Old Books”, in Brunswick, Maine in 1977. A dashing gentleman, Bill Hill, was her first customer. Bill spent much time in Old Books and soon became the love of her life. They married in the park by the library in Bath, Maine on June 15, 1979.
Clare and Bill ran Old Books together, Bill with his nautical collection and Clare with her love of great authors and fiction for over 30 years. From 1977-2004, Old Books was a staple of the Brunswick community. Clare was a life long champion of the literary and visual arts.
Clare was well traveled, with trips to Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, Portugal, Spain, England, France, Yugoslavia, Mexico and Central America. She loved traveling with her sister Liz in the Southwest–exploring Chaco Canyon (NM), Monument Valley & Grand Canyon (AZ), painting in Taos, and camping on the Texas coast– loving the whooping cranes and beach walks. Clare last traveled to Ireland with her beloved step-daughter, Rebecca Hill, in 2016, staying with her old friends Tony and Pat Owen. One place close to her heart was the Flint cottages at Owls Head, Maine.
She is preceded in death by her husband Bill Hill and by her parents. She is survived by her step-daughter, Rebecca Hill (Maine), her sisters Elizabeth Howell (Wyoming) and Cathy Howell (Colorado); Maine cousins, Louise and Bill Flint, and Nancy Eugley; Hellier cousins: Susan Hellier (Mike Raymond), Sally Boyton (Charlie) and Peter Hellier; and Creighton cousins. A memorial will be held at the Acorn Cemetery, Rockland, Maine Saturday November 23rd.
A passionate gardener and avid supporter of nature conservation, in lieu of gifts, please consider making a donation to your pubic library or local land trust/open space conservation organizations in her memory.