Nashville patron of the arts, philanthropist Clare Armistead dies at 93
Clare Armistead learned to golf at 60 years old. She continued to hit the green for the next 33 years.
"She was everyone's favorite golf partner," said one of her sons, Hunter Armistead.
His mother, a longtime Nashville philanthropist and supporter of the arts, would tee off at the Belle Meade Country Club, a few steps from her home.
She died in her home Wednesday, July 20, after a battle with cancer. The news traveled to the golf club fast, but the kitchen was already closed for the night.
When staff heard it was Clare Armistead who had died, they got to work preparing dinner for her family and friends, who had begun mourning.
There wasn't a dry eye in sight, Hunter Armistead said.
Visitation will be 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. August 5 at the Belle Meade Country Club.
From 2019: 7 trailblazing women honored with Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award
A keen eye, devoted mother
Ben Armistead, the younger of Clare Armistead's two sons, was content to observe his mother's accomplishments throughout the years.
She was the chairperson of the 1967 Swan Ball. One of the city’s premier charity events, the annual event supports the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood.
In 2019, Clare Armistead won the event's Swan Award.
"She was known for delivering and executing close to perfection," Ben Armistead said.
'Much more than one night': Women haven't given up on canceled Swan Ball's mission
Dress and decorum.
Hunter Armistead said his artistic endeavors were inspired and supported by his mother, who had, in his words, a remarkable eye for beauty.
"I can't tell you how many times we would stop on the sidewalk for her to point out the moon," Hunter Armistead said.
Clare Armistead brought beauty to her work, her sense of fashion into everyday life. She left Nashville only once, to study fashion in New York City. But she told The Tennessean in 2015 that it took time for her to embrace the industry.
"I really wasn't that interested in clothes until I was grown," Clare Armistead said. "I went to school in New York and took fashion merchandising and saw the big boys and girls who were designing then, and just loved it."
She found her signature in clean lines and neutral tones, and she played her own part in bringing in-demand designers to Nashville.
In 2015, Clare Armistead was the recipient of the inaugural Nashville Fashion Week Style Icon Award.
Leading lady
Clare Armistead knew how to throw a party.
She staged the Red Grooms exhibit's opening gala at the Tennessee State Museum in 1986, and over the years received high praise for her involvement in planning Symphony and Swan Balls.
"Known for her genteel but classic manner and an impeccably well-defined sense of individualism, Armistead knows herself and her city," The Tennessean staff writer Patrick Connolly wrote in 1986.
Clare Armistead was a founding member of the Friends of Percy Warner Park in 1987, one of the first friends groups for Nashville parks.
"Whether it's Cheekwood, The Frist, The Parthenon, or Percy Warner Park, Clare was a force to be reckoned with," said Lois Riggins-Ezzell, director emeritus of the Tennessee State Museum.
In 2019, Clare Armistead received the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award along with six other notable women in Nashville. Started in 1994, the annual award honors community leaders committed to people and causes in need.
In a 2019 short film titled "Women of Wonder," Riggins-Ezzell said Clare Armistead was a key member of the museum's board for more than 30 years.
A graceful departure
Behind the curtain of social ventures and philanthropic undertakings, Clare Armistead led a private home life, her sons said. When her husband died unexpectedly in 1999, she never went on another date.
She taught her sons how to grieve and move forward.
"She cried what she had to. But she didn't cry anymore," Hunter Armistead said. "She did what she knew would make her happy every single day."
Clare Armistead in recent weeks continued to host friends and colleagues. She was aglow while surrounded by loved ones, and kept her head high in her final days.
"She did not accept her physical decline as a reason to stop being who she was," Hunter Armistead said.
Hunter Armistead was on his way to his mother's home when she took her last breath. When he arrived, he watched caretakers wrap her in a shawl and place flowers over her body. Only her face showed.
"It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Hunter Armistead said.
"It was a triumph. We rejoiced."
Reach reporter Molly Davis at mdavis2@gannett.com or on Twitter @mollym_davis.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clare Armistead, Nashville philanthropist and fashion icon dead at 93
