Professor and Author on Autism Clara Park Dies

Clara Claiborne Park
Clara Claiborne Park

Clara Claiborne Park, senior lecturer in English, emerita, at the College and an internationally recognized voice on autism, died in Williamstown on July 3. She was 86.

In the Williams classroom, Park was noted for her early work on female authors and characters; in the larger world, her reputation was based on two books she wrote about her quest to understand her daughter Jessy’s autism. When The Siege: The First Eight Years of an Autistic Child appeared in 1967, autism was a poorly understood developmental disorder; by the 2001 publication of Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter’s Life with Autism, Park’s writings had for a generation been regarded as an important and pioneering source of insight for autism advocates, mental health professionals and educators.

After earning a bachelor’s at Radcliffe (1944), Park received her master’s at the University of Michigan (1948). She taught at Berkshire Community College before joining the faculty at Williams, where she taught from 1972 to 1994.

Park is survived by her husband David, Webster Atwell Class of 1921 Professor of Physics, emeritus; her daughter Jessy, a longtime employee in the Williams mail room; her son Paul, lecturer in English; daughters Katharine and Rachel; daughter-in-law Deborah Brothers, chair of the theater department; and two grandchildren.