| Clarence's Page |
Clarence was laid up on the couch, recovering from a fall from a ladder,
when I called him on February 12, 2008. He was pruning a tree for his
daughter when a branch knocked him off the ladder. His arm and a couple of
ribs were broken and his hip was badly bruised. Could have been much
worse! It was so nice to talk with him! I followed up with a call the next day
and had got to "meet" Marva, his vivacious wife.
Clarence was born at home on a May 26 at Little Flock, east of Temple. He
attended the same three-room elementary school at Moffat as Beerwinkle.
After high school, he worked as a carpenter, then went into the U.S. Army,
stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, after his basic training. He just missed
serving in Vietnam. After his military service, he worked as a carpenter
again, then spent several years on bucking horses and bulls as a rodeo
rider. He considers carpentry his main career.
Clarence and Marva saw each other on coffee breaks at the V&M drug store
in Temple for about a year before he asked her out. (Clarence always was
shy.) They were married in 1973 when he was 31 and she was 27. He says
she's a darling!
They have a daughter, Heather, 29, and a son, Daniel, 27. Heather's husband
Mathew is in the army---has served in Iraq and is due to return there again in
November. (Our prayers for his safety are with him.) They have four boys
ranging from 12 years to 4 months. Clarence and Marva have traveled all
around the country visiting them; they've been stationed at Fort Bragg, NC;
Fort Ord, CA; and Fort Huachuca, AZ. Since the family now lives at Fort Hood,
they get to see each other a lot more often.
Son Daniel, a welder living in Little River, is married and has one son.
Marva was the assistant manager for the Social Security office in Temple
until her retirement in January 2007. Clarence also retired last year, but he
still has a few cows to care for. They have traveled about the country
showing their own arts and crafts, mostly wood arts such as barn wood
coolers, benches, and trash cans, snowmen, Santa figures, and such. Marva
says they both paint pictures on the barnwood, but that Clarence's talent
outshines her own. Their retirement plans mostly involve gardening, both
flowers and vegetables. They both enjoy watching T.V.: CSI New York, CSI
Miami, and NCIS. Clarence likes Cops and America's Most Wanted. They aren't
big readers. Marva would like to travel more, but Clarence's arthritis makes
it not great fun for him. She's looking forward to a trip to Branson, Missouri,
with a girlfriend.
Clarence says the only classmate he sees anymore is Buddy, who came to
his craft show last fall. Has seen Billy Stanford occasionally over the years,
but not recently.
We hope to see him and Marva at the 50th Class Reunion!
when I called him on February 12, 2008. He was pruning a tree for his
daughter when a branch knocked him off the ladder. His arm and a couple of
ribs were broken and his hip was badly bruised. Could have been much
worse! It was so nice to talk with him! I followed up with a call the next day
and had got to "meet" Marva, his vivacious wife.
Clarence was born at home on a May 26 at Little Flock, east of Temple. He
attended the same three-room elementary school at Moffat as Beerwinkle.
After high school, he worked as a carpenter, then went into the U.S. Army,
stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, after his basic training. He just missed
serving in Vietnam. After his military service, he worked as a carpenter
again, then spent several years on bucking horses and bulls as a rodeo
rider. He considers carpentry his main career.
Clarence and Marva saw each other on coffee breaks at the V&M drug store
in Temple for about a year before he asked her out. (Clarence always was
shy.) They were married in 1973 when he was 31 and she was 27. He says
she's a darling!
They have a daughter, Heather, 29, and a son, Daniel, 27. Heather's husband
Mathew is in the army---has served in Iraq and is due to return there again in
November. (Our prayers for his safety are with him.) They have four boys
ranging from 12 years to 4 months. Clarence and Marva have traveled all
around the country visiting them; they've been stationed at Fort Bragg, NC;
Fort Ord, CA; and Fort Huachuca, AZ. Since the family now lives at Fort Hood,
they get to see each other a lot more often.
Son Daniel, a welder living in Little River, is married and has one son.
Marva was the assistant manager for the Social Security office in Temple
until her retirement in January 2007. Clarence also retired last year, but he
still has a few cows to care for. They have traveled about the country
showing their own arts and crafts, mostly wood arts such as barn wood
coolers, benches, and trash cans, snowmen, Santa figures, and such. Marva
says they both paint pictures on the barnwood, but that Clarence's talent
outshines her own. Their retirement plans mostly involve gardening, both
flowers and vegetables. They both enjoy watching T.V.: CSI New York, CSI
Miami, and NCIS. Clarence likes Cops and America's Most Wanted. They aren't
big readers. Marva would like to travel more, but Clarence's arthritis makes
it not great fun for him. She's looking forward to a trip to Branson, Missouri,
with a girlfriend.
Clarence says the only classmate he sees anymore is Buddy, who came to
his craft show last fall. Has seen Billy Stanford occasionally over the years,
but not recently.
We hope to see him and Marva at the 50th Class Reunion!
| Our Clarence in 1960. More photos to come. |