Douglas E. Clanin

Douglas E. Clanin, age 86, died May 15, 2026. He was born May 5, 1940, in Anderson, Indiana, to Howard P. and Sarah E. (Weatherford) Clanin and lived in the area most of his life.

Mr. Clanin was a 1958 graduate of Madison Heights High School in Anderson. He received his B.S. in social studies from Purdue University and an M.A. in history from Indiana University Bloomington. He also pursued a Ph.D. in history at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

During the Vietnam War, he served as an information specialist in the U.S. Air Force in Texas and Thailand.
From 1964 to 1965, he taught social studies at Whitewater-Fountain City High School in Wayne County, Indiana. From 1970 to 1980, he served as an assistant editor on two projects at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections and The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.

Mr. Clanin was an editor at the Indiana Historical Society from 1980 to 2005. While at the Society, he wrote several published essays and articles and was the principal editor of The William Henry Harrison Papers, 1800-1815 and The Papers of Lew and Susan Wallace.

Mr. Clanin made a significant contribution by interviewing and recording-on his own time-approximately 200 World War II veterans in Indiana. These recordings and transcripts are available to researchers and the general public through the Indiana Historical Society.

Mr. Clanin was a former member of First United Methodist Church in Anderson. He was also a former member of the American Legion, the Indiana and Madison County Historical Societies, the Service Club of Indianapolis, and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. He also served on the board of directors of the Gruenewald Historic House in Anderson.

Survivors include two sons, Christopher L. Clanin of Olympia, Washington and D. Matthew (Krista M.) Clanin of Zionsville, Indiana; two granddaughters, Samaya Y. Clanin and Sophia E. Clanin; one brother, Gregory A. (Twylla J.) Clanin of Jackson, Tennessee; a niece; a nephew; and several great-nieces, great-nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Visitation will be held Saturday, May 23, 2026, from 10:00-11:00 a.m., with services immediately following, at Robert D. Loose Funeral Homes & Crematory (200 W 53rd St., Anderson, IN 46013). Burial will take place immediately following the service at Anderson Memorial Park Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA.