Photo: Rev. Clint Rabb
DIRECTOR OF MISSION VOLUNTEERS, REV. CLINT RABB, DIES FROM INJURIES SUSTATINED IN HAITI EARTHQUAKE
From the New York’s Lower Hudson Valleyhttp://www.lohud.com/article/20100117/NEWS02/1170402/Hawthorne-pastor-dies-in-Florida-from-earthquake-injuries
January 17, 2010 Hawthorne, NY - After spending 55 hours trapped under earthquake rubble in Haiti, the Rev. Clinton Rabb of Hawthorne died from injuries Sunday in a Florida hospital. He was 60. The father of eight had just entered the the Hotel Montana when the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Several of his children were at his home in Hawthorne Sunday saying their father had passion for serving not only the United Methodist Church but also his family. "He was very giving and always on the move," his step-son Daniel Payne said. "He was always looking at fixing problems. He always was willing to do whatever he could to support my mom and our family." Rabb was a leader in the church's mission volunteer program.
He spent more than two days trapped under the rubble of the Hotel Montana before he was found Thursday along with two colleagues. One of those colleagues, the Rev. Samuel W. Dixon, Jr., also died in the quake. The United Methodist Church said the second colleague, the Rev. James Gulley, is back at his home in Denver, Colo.. The three men were in Haiti for a meeting of aid organizations to coordinate relief and development efforts for the year.
Rabb was found in the hotel's rubble and transported to North Broward Medical Center in Florida for traumatic injuries. Payne said his mother, the Rev. Suzanne Rabb, and his brother Andrew were among the family members with Rabb in the hospital before he died. "He had a respirator and he could not speak because his body was paralyzed with sedation medicine,"Payne said. "My mom said to him 'Clinton, we're all here and we love you.' He was able to open his eyes bigger and acknowledge her. As she talked to him, he had tears in his eyes and she knew he was crying."
Rabb was a native Texan and moved to Hawthorne with his wife in 2007. He had been a clergyman for almost 36 years with extensive mission work in Africa, Asia and Europe. He had been with Global Ministries, the United Methodist Church's global mission group, since 1996. "He had the belief that not just his work was critical and important, but also the ability to make a difference" Payne said. "If he thought he could make a difference somewhere, he was all for it."
One of his other sons Matthew said Rabb was an avid musician, often playing jazz and blues tunes on the piano. "He loved coming home and play on the piano for hours," he said. "He'd sing in a Louis Armstrong type of voice singing jazz tunes."
Rabb was also a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan that was ecstatic about the team's efforts this season. This year marked the team's first playoff entry since 1996 but today their season came to an end after losing to the Minnesota Vikings earlier today.#
