George Clifford

AIKEN, SC -

George F. Clifford died on Sunday, August 11, 2019 at Heroes Pointe at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center.  He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Virginia Clifford.

      A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, August 31, 2019 at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church, in Aiken.  Following the funeral service a reception will be held in the Stevenson-McClelland Building.

     Honorary Pallbearers will be Senior Men’s Club of Aiken, Aiken Singers and Sunday Brunch Group.

     George was born on May 9, 1923 in Somerville, MA.  His parents were George F. Clifford and Ethel Hickey Clifford.

     He graduated from Belmont High School in 1940 and enrolled at MIT in Cambridge, MA.  When WWII broke out, George left MIT and enlisted in the Army.  When the war was over, he went back to MIT and graduated in the Class of ’48, one of the largest post-WWII classes.

     Following graduation, his first job was at Pittsburg Oil and Gas. George ran an experimental pilot plant to convert coal into gas.  In 1955 George left his work in PA and moved to Menlo Park, CA where he worked with Beckman Instruments as Sales Manager and later as the Spinco Division General Manager.

     In the late 50’s he moved back to MA to pursue entrepreneurial interests in cryogenics, manufacturers representation and then instrument manufacturing.  In the mid-1960’s George founded Clifford Instruments, Inc., based on blood protein separation research and development from a prominent Boston hospital. The Clifford densitomer became widespread in US blood processing labs and was also sold overseas. In 1975 he sold Clifford Instruments, Inc. to Corning Glass Works.  Overall, he was involved with five start-up businesses. He worked for Corning until his retirement. 

     One of George’s loves was MIT, where he was active in the Alumni Association for over 65 years.  He was also active in the Class of ’48, serving as president of his Class and also treasurer.  An illness kept him from attending his 70th reunion in 2018.  He received the Lobdell Award and the Presidential Citation for his work with the Alumni Association.  In October of 1999 he received the Bronze Beaver Award, described as, "The highest honor the Association can bestow upon any alumni volunteer. It is given to recognize distinguished service to the Alumni Association and the Institute by alumni who have been active in most or all phases of alumni activity and who have been outstanding in at least one phase." 

     Music was another love of George’s.  He joined the Millis Community Choral when he lived in MA.  After a move to Jekyll Island, GA, he joined the Jekyll Island Singers.  He was lucky enough to move to Aiken just as Diane Haslam was organizing and starting Aiken Singers.  He sang with the Aiken Singers, even after he needed a walker in order to stand up and perform.  At St. Thaddeus Church, he was a member of the Balcony Singers. He continued to sing after his 90th birthday.  

     When he lived on Jekyll Island he chaired a task force that raised the money to build a playground for children in the area.

     When he moved to Aiken in 2005 he became active in the Aiken Senior Men’s Club, and he passed out applications to every senior man he met in Aiken.  He served as Treasurer for the Club.  In 2013, he was named Man of the Year by the Club.

     After moving to Woodside, he continued to play tennis and enjoyed so much the fellowship that offered him. He also loved to take Peter Clifford and Chris Poor Jr. out on the course to introduce them to the game of golf.

     Survivors include his loving wife, Virginia Clifford; sons, Kelly (Sandra) Clifford, Hudson MA; David Clifford, Medway, MA; Bruce, (Michele) Clifford, Arlington, MA; and Stephen (Emily) Clifford, Natick, MA.  Two stepchildren, Katherine (Paul) Welcomer, Lafayette, CA and Christopher (Dawn) Poor, Marvin, NC.  Thirteen grandchildren, Kara (Ryan) Billings, Jessie Welcomer, Kyle Clifford, Ryan Clifford, Jacob Welcomer, Colleen Clifford, Alexandra Clifford, Peter Clifford, Nate Welcomer, Madison Poor, Chris Poor Jr., Will Clifford and Sarah Poor.  His former wife Mariagnes G. Clifford of Arlington, MA. 

     He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Ethel Clifford, and a sister, Ethel C. Garrett.

     George will be remembered by his family and friends for his brilliant analytical mind; his love of Irish dance and Celtic songs; his astonishingly active lifestyle, including playing tennis and golf into his late eighties (even winning mini-golf at 91 against his children and grandchildren!); his love of his wife's amazing cooking, desserts, ice cream, and chocolate; his evening Canadian Club with soda; his positive outlook on life; his ministry to his church and civic outreach; his colorful and sometimes bold fashion sense; his sense of humor and his devotion to his adoring wife Ginny.  He will be forever in our hearts.

    His wife and family would like to thank everyone at Patriot’s Pointe, the PT Team and Heroes Pointe (Hospice) at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center Uptown in Augusta, GA.  He received the very best care, and he learned to walk again.  We will be forever grateful for the love and care he received.

     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Hospice at Charlie Norwood VA MC, 1 Freedom Way, Augusta, GA 30904.

SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC