Thomas Ellis Clyce's Obituary
Thomas Ellis Clyce was the son of the late Wallace Perrin Clyce and Mary Lillian Ellis Clyce of Sherman, TX and Dallas, TX and grandson of the late Dr. Thomas Stone Clyce and Mayde Perrin Clyce of Sherman where Dr. Clyce was President of Austin College. He was born in Sherman on December 29, 1920 and reared there and on the family ranch near Roanoke, TX. He attended High School at Roanoke and also at Sherman where he played football for the Sherman Bearcats, graduating in 1938. He attended The Rice Institute in Houston, Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater Okla., Port Arthur College in Port Arthur, TX and Austin College in Sherman. Prior to WW II he had commercial radio licenses for Radiotelegraph and Radiotelephone and worked as transmitter engineer at Radio Station KRRV in Sherman and at North American Aviation in Grand Prairie, TX. He enlisted in the US Navy shortly after the outbreak of WW II and served from Feb. 1942 until Oct. 1945. He was in the crew of a destroyer, the USS CLAXTON DD571, for three of those years. The ship was a unit of the famous Destroyer Squadron 23, which earned The Presidential Unit Citation during actions in the South Pacific in 1944 and went on to earn 8 battle stars in the Solomons, Philippines and Okinawa campaigns. He attained the rank of Chief Radio Technician. After WW II he was first employed as Chief Engineer of Radio Station KGVL in Greenville, TX until 1951. He then joined his father and brother in a General Contracting Co., C & S Construction Co., in Dallas. There he designed and supervised construction of several church buildings and other commercial structures. In 1953 he started another career in the design and manufacturing of monumental aluminum windows and curtain walls for high rise buildings. Until 1965, he worked for several different companies in this field doing design, research, development, and testing. In 1966 he started another career in the design and manufacture of specialty woodworking machinery. For 18 years he was employed by Industrial Woodworking Machine Co. of Garland. During that time he served on the board of directors, as Vice-President and as Chief Engineer. Tom retired in 1982 and moved to a country place near Edgewood, TX where he and his wife Mable had built a retirement home. He was active as a volunteer with The Edgewood Historical Society and served on their board of directors and as Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee of their Edgewood Heritage Park. He designed and built several of the structures in the Park and restored others over the course of seven years. He was also a member of the Edgewood Lions Club for several years. In Jan. of 2002 Tom moved to the Cedar Creek area, next door to his daughter Dee Dee in Seven Points, TX and later near Payne Springs, TX. Here he was also next door to his adopted daughter Karen Jones. In 1942, Tom had married Mable Ragsdale of Roanoke, TX; she died in 1990 in Edgewood. They had one daughter Ellen Clyce Shomette and son-in-law William Shomette of Seven Points TX. Ellen was a valentine gift to mother and dad in 1943. She passed away in Oct. 2002 at home. Tom and Mable are survived by a son Thomas E. Clyce Jr. and daughter-in-law Louise Clyce of Birmingham AL, and she passed away in Feb. 2011 , daughter, Dee Dee Clyce Lambert and son-in-l aw Jim Lambert of Mabank, TX and adopted daughter Karen Clyce Jones and son-in-law Calvin Jones. They are also survived by three granddaughters, Debbie Kunz of Elkins, Arkansas, Christi Doherty of Gun Barrel City, Texas and Callen Clyce of Birmingham, Alabama, two grandsons, Lance Clyce of Florida and Branum Clyce of Alabama. Also surviving are nine great-grandchildren, four great-great grandkids and numerous nieces and nephews. Tom is survived by one brother, Wallace Perrin Clyce Jr. of Arlington, TX. Service at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at Restland Wildwood Chapel with visitation a hour prior. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Edgewood Historical Society, P.O. Box 765, Edgewood, TX 75117.
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