William E. Cluff's Obituary
William E. Cluff was the fourth child of the late Bessie Adams Cluff and Stanford S. Cluff and was born on March 3, 1938 in Federalsburg, Maryland. The Lord called him home on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
William (Bill) attended the former John Wesley United Methodist Church near Federalsburg, Maryland in his youth. He attended Germantown Community Presbyterian Church, located in Philadelphia, PA, every Sunday where he was an usher for 25 years. Before becoming an usher he was a member of the men’s choir. He always said that God had been good to him all his life and he thanked him everyday.
Bill attended Lockerman High School in Denton and graduated valedictorian of his class. After graduating he worked for two years for a building contractor in which he learned the business from the ground up. He helped build several new homes in Federalsburg and the biggest and best homes were built in Rehoboth Beach, DE. In 1958 he moved to Philadelphia, PA and worked for an electronics company. In 1961 he was drafted into the Army where he took basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. Upon completing training he entered Jump School in Fort Benning, GA. When he completed school he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, were he was assigned to the Headquarters Company, which was an elite company. This elite company would do parachute jumps on holidays, like 4th of July and Memorial Day, in California, Indiana, Texas, New Jersey and Illinois. While assigned to the 82nd he learned how to pilot a helicopter. He was honorably discharged after serving two years and returned to his previous electronics job. His boss asked Bill to further his education so he enrolled in Temple University in 1964. He graduated with a degree in Engineering in 1969. Bill retired from Instruments for Research located in Philadelphia in 2001 after working there for 39 years. He enjoyed traveling, hunting, photography, barbequing, and gardening. Bill also was a Corvette lover and owned three. At the time of his death he still owned his blue 1973 Corvette.
He is survived by four step-daughters, Ciana Renee Cushinie and Deena Henley of Erial, NJ, Theresa Roseborough of Chicago, IL and Francesca Porter of Kenya, Africa, and a special nephew Curtis Lewis; three sisters, Sallie and Bessie of Fort Washington, MD, Gladys M. Cluff-Cunningham and her husband William of Oakdale, CA; two brothers, Warner and his wife Victoria of Trappe, MD and Stanford and his wife Carol of Middletown, DE. Beside his parents he was preceded in death by his companion Janet Young, his wife Peggy Smith; one sister, Sarah, and three brothers, Robert, James, and Charles. He also leaves to mourn a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and relatives.
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