January 1st, 1973 – January 4th, 2025
Folklorist | Cultural Anthropologist | Media Artist | Educator | Conservationist | Friend
The Kentucky Folklife Program is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a near and dear friend, Miss Tammy Clemons. She was a brilliant asset to the world of Cultural Advocacy, Conservation, and Storytelling for the Kentucky region. It is very difficult to put words to the magic that is and forever will be Tammy, so we decided to let her friends fill in the gaps for us.
“Tammy “Tambone” Clemons was a force. She was a force for women, for Appalachia, for the environment, she was just a force in the best possible way.”
“Tammy “Tambone” Clemons was a force. She was a force for women, for Appalachia, for the environment, she was just a force in the best possible way. I had the great fortune to cross paths with Tammy professionally many times, but our co-founding of KYOH-NET with Jennifer Bartlett was the highlight for sure. It is a network of Kentucky’s oral historians looking to share experiences, funding opportunities, and projects, and Tammy was critical to its success. On a personal level, though, on January 4, I decided to buy a camera I’ve wanted for over five years. A few years ago, when Tammy invited me to give a talk on documentary photography at her Community Scholar’s course, it was one of the few times in my life when I didn’t feel like a fraud. I felt like I knew enough to help the class understand how one can use photography to tell a story, to document a person, community, or event. Tammy made it all so easy, and I was enriched by the experience. When I ordered the new camera on January 4, I didn’t know Tammy had died that same day. I like to think it was her voice in my ear saying, “Buy the camera,” when I nervously pressed that buy button. It would be just like her to support anyone, not just me, who was creative and sincere even as she was making her exit from this mortal coil. I will miss her, and I am exceedingly grateful for her friendship, support, and collegiality.”
Kopana Terry
Lexington, Kentucky
Preservationist | Photographer | Musician | Archivist | Oral Historian
“One of her gifts was her understanding the power of stories, history and identity to bring people together.”
“Dr. Tammy Clemons took Community Scholar training in Laurel County in 2009, which is when I first met her. She had many interests and gifts which made her an excellent Community Scholar and eventually a cultural anthropologist. One of her gifts was her understanding the power of stories, history and identity to bring people together. She was fearless in everything she took on and she worked hard to turn many good ideas into realities. Tammy enjoyed and embraced new technologies and used them in innovative ways. She inspired me to learn different skills and she helped me better understand the lifelong value of the Community Scholar training program and the people it engages. Kentucky and the greater region are better places because of her life.”
Mark Brown
Frankfort, Kentucky
Kentucky Arts Council Folk & Traditional Arts Director | Folklorist | Musician | Cultural Preservationist
“Though we have lost her far too soon, her work will continue through the many individuals she has inspired.”
“Through her work and her beautiful spirit, Tammy Clemons helped to bring attention to the richness of Appalachian Kentucky through both her documentation of the experiences of people of the region and her advocacy. Though we have lost her far too soon, her work will continue through the many individuals she has inspired.”
Dr. Ann Ferrell
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Folklorist | WKU Folk Studies Program Coordinator/Professor | Oral Historian | Author | Cultural Preservationist
“…she encouraged everyone to find their own passion, recognize how much they already knew and build on that.”
“What I love most about Tammy is the way that she constantly empowered everyone in her sphere. Community scholars, oral historians, teaching artists, youth, nonprofit peers – she shared her passion and her knowledge with all of us. But she never overwhelmed us. Instead, she encouraged everyone to find their own passion, recognize how much they already knew and build on that. I remember once watching her teach a class of eighth graders how to create a graphic novel. She began by showing them all how to strike a power pose. Most were bashful at first, but soon she had them all standing up looking like a class full of superheroes. And when they began working on their graphic novels, they carried that sense of power with them. I like to remember Tammy in that pose. And I will strike it every now and then, just to remind myself of all the gifts, all the friendship and love she shared with me. Love you forever and always, Dr. Tambone!”
Judy Sizemore
Richmond, Kentucky
Folklorist | Education Specialist | Oral Historian | Cultural Consultant | Cultural Preservationist
“Her devotion to the Appalachian region was evident in the way she spoke — with such tenderness and pride — about her friends, family, and collaborators across the Commonwealth.”
“I had the good fortune of knowing Tammy through the Community Scholars pilot program she facilitated in Rockcastle County in the summer of 2023. Her devotion to the Appalachian region was evident in the way she spoke — with such tenderness and pride — about her friends, family, and collaborators across the Commonwealth. I was genuinely in awe of her self-assuredness, and her sense of identity never seemed to waver. Although we only met a handful of times, she always came across as sly, quick-witted, generous, and incredibly insightful. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the field of folk studies, but there is little doubt that her spirit, in all its complex forms and facets, is deeply embedded in her homeplace.”
Delainey Bowers
Somerset, Kentucky
Folklorist | Kentucky Folklife Digital Magazine Editor | Podcast Host & Researcher | Oral Historian | Cultural Preservationist | Librarian
“An advocate, a folklorist, an educator, a friend; a soul whose purpose was to raise the voices of those who couldn’t do it themselves.”
“Tammy was a true force to be reckoned with. An advocate, a folklorist, an educator, a friend; a soul whose purpose was to raise the voices of those who couldn’t do it themselves.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tammy during my first ever introduction into the Community Scholars world in 2023. Tammy was facilitating a Community Scholars program that summer in Mt. Vernon. From the get go, I knew she was someone who battled on the front lines for cultural advocacy and preservation. We had four students participating in the program, Kyra, Bugz, Mark, and Aaron, and she truly cared about them as people. She listened to their passions and hopes very intently, and did everything in her power to see their projects come to fruition. She was a leader through and through, and she did it with pure kindness.
Thank you Tammy, for teaching me the importance of community, and how investing in what matters to you, can change the world.Thanks for changing mine.”
Camille Maria Acosta
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Folklorist | Kentucky Folklife Program Folklife Specialist | Cultural Preservationist | Podcast Host & Producer | Performance Activist
“She showed up in countless ways for the issues, people, and land she believed in and cared so much about.”
“The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) community mourns the loss of Dr. Tammy “Tambone” Clemons. Tammy was a fierce intellect and an unwavering advocate for social justice. A long-time member of the ASA, she shaped the organization and made essential contributions to our Association during her too-brief life and career.
A mentor to countless students and peers, Tammy leaves a legacy as a champion of curiosity and discovery. While her achievements are many, perhaps her greatest legacy was the establishment, along with her wife Timi Reedy, of Camp Happy Appalachee in 2011. This LGBTQ gathering space at the annual conference has provided a welcoming space for countless organization members and served as a predecessor to the inclusive efforts of the organization today. She brought attention to a too often overlooked group in our Appalachian Community.
Tammy’s intellectual and academic contributions to ASA were and continue to be significant. She studied and worked at two prominent institutions in Appalachian Studies – Berea College, where she graduated in 1999 as Berea’s first women’s studies major, and the University of Kentucky, where she earned an MA and PhD in Anthropology studying with Ann Kingsolver. Driven by intellectual curiosity, she also earned a Master of Divinity Studies from Harvard University, in 2001.
Wherever she found herself, Tammy brought her interests in feminism, ecofeminism, community, youth, activism, oral history, media, and art. These became common themes throughout her presentations at the ASA conference in a variety of ways over the years. She was a founding and ongoing member of the yearly roundtables on feminism in Appalachia. As recently as mid-December, she was contributing as co-editor in a forthcoming themed issue of the Journal of Appalachian Studies on “Women, Gender, and Feminism in Appalachia: Intersecting and Emerging Scholarship.” Tammy lived her values, residing in an “off-the-grid” dome home she and Timi built themselves in rural Eastern Kentucky. She showed up in countless ways for the issues, people, and land she believed in and cared so much about. Beyond the traditional academic institutions in Appalachia, she co-moderated the Appalnet listserv and was involved with many venerated organizations in the region, such as The High Rocks Educational Corporation, Appalachian Media Institute, and the Waymakers Collective.
We will remember and miss her energy and presence in ASA. We will celebrate her legacy and keep that legacy alive through activities such as Camp Happy Appalachee. Seeing her at the annual conference was always a joy because she shared her passion, curiosity, and kindness sincerely with others in the community. While it is heartbreaking to know we won’t see Tambone or her joyful smile there this March, we know she will be with us in spirit. The legacy she built in her work and life will live on in the knowledge she shared and her impact on individuals and the ASA community.“
Appalachian Studies Association & Timi Reedy
Huntington, West Virgina
Cultural Preservation | Scholars | Educators | Practitioners | Grassroots Activists | Students | Individuals | Groups | Institutions
Photos Courtesy of Mark Brown, Judy Sizemore, Timi Reedy, and the Kentucky Folklife Program
If you would like to share a memory of Tammy, feel free to comment on this webpage, or send an email to kyfolklife@gmail.com.
Kentucky Folklife Program 