Evelyn Clifford Obituary

Evelyn B. Clifford

Born: April 12, 1920

Died: May 8, 2017

Evelyn B. Clifford passed away on May 8, 2017. She was born April 12, 1920 to Blanche (Clary) and Walter Blair in Mayville, Michigan.

She grew up in Lapeer, Michigan, graduated from Lapeer High School, attending Albion College and Baker Business School in Flint. In 1941 she married Navy Lt. Howard Simmons who was lost at sea in a typhoon that struck Okinawa in 1945.

Evelyn was an executive secretary at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Michigan until her marriage to James H. Clifford in 1953. They resided in Glen Ellyn, Illinois where they raised their two daughters, Lisa and Colleen. Upon James' retirement from Sears, Roebuck, & Co. in 1986, they moved to their beach front home on Lake Michigan in Coloma, Michigan. In December of 2014, they moved to Ventura, California to be closer to their family.

Evelyn was a member of the Algonquin Chapter of D.A.R., being a DAR member for over fifty years. She used her organizational and leadership talents as PTA President, Glen Ellyn Infant Welfare President, and as a volunteer at the Krasl Art Center.

Evelyn and James traveled the world, visiting every continent except South America and Antarctica, which each trip having its own photo album/scrapbook and travel log. In addition to travel, Evelyn loved playing bridge, working the crossword puzzles, and entertaining, choosing to create a cookbook of favorite recipes for her family and close friends. She was especially pleased to share her prize-winning recipe for rhubarb pie.

She is survived by her husband, James, the love of her life; her daughters, Lisa (Glen Gorski) and Colleen (Michael Neilson); her grandchildren, James, Catie, Patrick (Sara Aist), and Evelyn; and great granddaughters, Inara and Eleanor.

She was preceded in death by one sister, Mariane Davis.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will be greatly appreciated.

Funeral arrangements are by Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura, CA. Interment will be at St. Paul's Cemetery in Valparaiso, IN.