Thursday, January 15, 2009

Thomas Wesley Clepper III


Tommy, age 81, flew to Heaven on wings of angels on the evening of January 7, 2009. He was born May 29, 1927 in Nowata, OK. He is preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Ivy Christine Walker, his father Thomas W. Clepper, II, and mother, Martha Ann Jones Clepper. He is survived by his wife of almost 54 years, Mildred Jacqueline Drake, whom he married February 23, 1956 in Chattanooga, TN; son, Thomas W. Clepper, IV (wife Renee) of Alexandria, VA and daughter Amy Richardson (husband Clark) of Terrell, TX; grandchildren Thomas Wesley Clepper, V (wife Michelle); Sgt. Clark Richardson, U.S. Army (wife Crystal), Erin Clepper, Megan Walker, Holly Richardson, Emily Walker Crume (husband Kyle), PFC Charles C. Walker, U.S. Army, and Olivia Clepper; great-grand children Chase Clepper, Chloe Crume, Ayden Clepper and Sydney Crume; brothers Walter D. Clepper, (wife Leta) Ooltewah, TN; Alan S. Clepper, (wife Miriam), Pine Mountain, GA and Frank Clepper (wife Bettye) Seymour, TN, and eleven nieces and nephews. He was a Senior Tool Engineer for almost 25 years at Lithonia Lighting, Conyers, Georgia where he designed and manufactured industrial and home fluorescent lighting fixtures. He was drafted into the Army as a Senior in high school in 1945 and trained in hand-to-hand combat as part of the Japanese islands invasion force. Soon thereafter, he was discharged to help his mother and brothers after the death of his father. He was a faithful Christian and a member of Whitney Baptist Church, Leesburg, FL and enjoyed studying the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation. He passed his passion for aviation and building model airplanes to his son and grandsons. A memorial service will be held at Whitney Baptist Church on Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, family and friends are invited to make a donation to the building fund for Whitney Baptist Church, 32630 North Whitney Road, Leesburg, FL 34748.

Tommy's ashes will be strewn in three different places: one-third will be spread near the coordinates where our daughter, Ivy Christine's (April 18, 1957 - June 16, 2004) ashes were strewn in the summer of 2004 near Pensacola, Florida; one-third will be strewn over the Clepper section of the Gilliam Cemetery and the Clepper plantation in Marion County, TN with the last third being strewn, along with the ashes of his wife, Jacqueline, over the Drake Cemetery and lands on Two Run Road, Geary District, Roane County, West Virginia.

Referene:
* http://www.legacy.com/RockdaleCitizen/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=122412210
* http://www.dailycommercial.com/Obituaries/011009Clepper
* http://www.cemeterysurveysinc.com/?p=247706
* History and Genealogy of the family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family
1986 / LOC 86-62751 / The Gregath Company / Page 150

No comments: