Honoring Family With a Meaningful Legacy

Clarence Banton comes from a remarkable family. His father was a chemical engineer who served with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. His brother Jim was born deaf, and exhibited wonderful artistic talent at College for Creative Studies (CCS), where a scholarship fund is named in his honor.

Clarence himself served in Vietnam and pursued a career in software engineering and a second interest in real estate. Clarence’s mother, Elizabeth (“Betty”), is perhaps the most notable of the family. Born in 1914, she studied classical piano. Later she obtained a degree in Latin from Wellesley College, as well as a master’s in classical studies, and enjoyed a 40-year teaching career. And she lived to celebrate her 103rd birthday!

Betty Banton was a “born teacher,” a woman who described herself as “curious about things.” She enjoyed talking to people and making them smile. After she retired from the Highland Park Public Schools in 1973, she missed teaching badly. Feeling lost, she wondered what was next for her. Luckily for the DIA, Betty was driving her son Jim to CCS, and she took to exploring the galleries while he was in class. So it was only natural that Betty would become a docent, perfectly combining her interest in art with her natural talent for teaching. Betty served the museum as a docent for nearly 20 years. Clarence believes that this work, which she found so meaningful, “saved my mother’s life.”

Today, Clarence still lives in the family home, surrounded by his mother’s grand piano and his brother’s artwork. His planned gift to the museum, made through his trust, pays homage to his family’s remarkable accomplishments and the wonderful legacy they created together.