Clint Weimeister

Clint was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 27, 1947. He was an only child of loving parents, George and Margaret Klein Weimeister. At age 6, he came down with polio and was hospitalized for many months. He needed to learn to walk again and had many operations. The polio and post-polio affected him deeply. He lived with patience and verve in a body that didn’t work very well. He was happy, calm and relaxed, always treating people kindly. He became a person who made a difference through depth, humor and gentle ways.

Clint grew up in Arbutus, near Baltimore, went to public school and was active in student leadership, culminating in being on staff with Maryland Leadership Workshops in high school. He went to Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, majoring in math and continuing his involvement in student leadership. Clint was raised Catholic, living the main message – God is Love.

After college, Clint joined Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and spent two years doing community organizing in Palm Beach County, Florida. He especially valued connections forged with African Americans there. He married Roan Wildmare and returned to Baltimore where a son, Matt Weimeister, was born. He embarked on a career in criminal justice, working with a pre-trial release program. The family was active in Movement for a New Society (MNS), a group working for nonviolent social change.

Clint and Roan got divorced. He had a twelve-year partnership with Ken Fremont-Smith. In 1985, he moved to Seattle and worked as a compassionate Community Corrections (probation) Officer for the State of Washington. He never carried a gun. In his work, Clint shared the journey with individuals who were on probation after leaving prison. In his own way, he took up the Quaker concern for those of us separated from society, facing punishment or personal restriction.

Clint continued participation in Movement for a New Society, which is where he met Caroline Wildflower, who was also active in MNS. Clint and Caroline were together for thirty-three years, marrying in 1988. In 2003, Clint and Caroline moved to Port Townsend, joining the RoseWind co-housing community. They formed deep friendships while building a community in which people, by working together, create more than they could by themselves.

Clint’s interests ranged widely. He and Caroline became ham radio operators. (Clint’s call sign was KG7WNM.) He taught himself plumbing, watercolor painting, computer programming, electrical wiring, ukulele, videotape production and much more. He read books on topics including the “God is Dead” idea, language analysis, math concepts, nonviolent activism and descriptions of a wide variety of games.

In 1993, Clint became a member of the University Meeting in Seattle and continued to live the Catholic message – God is Love – which is also a Quaker message. In 2003, he transferred his membership to Port Townsend Friends Meeting. Clint was active with Quakers both locally and nationally, serving as clerk for many committees. His service to Port Townsend Friends Meeting also included being treasurer, recording clerk, and presiding clerk. In 2014, as presiding clerk, he, along with Caroline, shepherded the process of buying and remodeling the Port Townsend meetinghouse. He nurtured the renewal of a Peace and Social Concerns Committee and kept a growing record of minutes that speak to the issues of our time.

Because of his self-taught knowledge of computer programming, Clint built websites for University Friends Meeting in Seattle and the Port Townsend Friends Meeting and provided technological support for these as well as regional Quaker websites. He served as registrar for two mid-winter conferences of Friends for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC). His last volunteer job was as registrar for North Pacific Yearly Meeting, and he was key to developing the “pay as you are led” method of abundant financing for Annual Session. Clint and Caroline traveled together, serving our Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, taking part in Friends General Conference and helping with national FLGBTQC gatherings. Clint and Caroline found in their Monthly Meetings, in Quarterly and Yearly gatherings and in the wider Quaker community a rich and supportive nurture. They continued their peace and justice work, growing out of their Quaker faith, especially efforts related to abolishing nuclear weapons, ending racism and resisting climate change. Friends across the country have been touched by Clint’s gifts.

Clint shared with all he met a life of love, openness, peace and deep appreciation for the ultimate mystery of which we all are a part. Acquainted with conditions of struggle and facing personal physical challenges from polio, sensitive to the stranger, and familiar with the barriers that define so many as different and other, Clint has been an ardent champion of inclusion and welcome.

Among us Clint has always offered a quiet and gentle presence, reaching out to learn about the interests of newcomers and deepening ties with his family and friends through thoughtful, encouraging conversation. He embraced both intimacy and vulnerability. His dry wit and wry sense of humor leavened hard moments; his wisdom and integrity helped clarify difficult decisions and occasions; his compassion and vision helped hold the way open in matters personal, communal and spiritual, and helped others with the assurance, “you’ll do fine.”

In the process of joining the University Friends Meeting in Seattle, Clint prepared a thorough review of his persuasion to become a part of the Society of Friends of the Truth. He understood and commended to others George Fox’s “experimental” approach to spiritual life and practice. Clint’s faith centered in a living engagement with complex, mysterious and surprising experience. His was an ever-unfolding journey. Every new occasion, even in his last days, was an opportunity to “experiment,” to learn, to discover, to savor, to grow and deepen.

Clint created space where the widest possible learning, service and healing could be experienced. It is no accident that the Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse is located across the street from an elementary school, next door to a children and family counseling center and down the street from both a shelter for women and children, and the county hospital.

Clint made his transition on May 22, 2019. He and Caroline traveled a cancer journey as their last journey together. He lived with pancreatic cancer for eight months after his diagnosis. They felt blessed that chemo worked sufficiently to enable them to spend time in loving relationship, carefully wrapping up a life and saying goodbye to family and many friends. Clint leaves behind his wife Caroline Wildflower; children Matt Weimeister, Salal Wildflower, Rachel Mortimer, Alice Gray (their foster child); and four grandchildren, Kylee, Catelyn, Eleanor and Ozzy. He modeled for us a good way of living—loving, gentle, compassionate, creative, funny and honest—embracing life, love, and community and advocating for social justice and peace. His presence in this and each moment with us all is an unending witness to boundless love and great grace.