Clarence Willard, 94, died at his home at the Cypress in Charlotte, NC, on December 20, 2012. He was born July 7, 1918, in Spartanburg, SC, the youngest son of William Grant Willard and Emma Dotterer Schirmer Willard. He graduated from The Citadel in 1940 as president of his senior class and Captain of the Summerall Guards, The Citadel’s precision drill team. During the Second World War, he served as a Navy pilot in both the Pacific and European theaters, flying antisubmarine and coastal strike missions in the Russell Islands, where he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross. He also earned the Asia Pacific Campaign ribbon with three battle stars and the Navy Air Medal for service during his tour of duty in southwest England. When he flew to England, his was one of the last B-24 squadrons to fly the ‘Southern Route,’ a 10,500 mile passage from Florida to Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Ascension Islands, and Morocco, before landing in southern England, where he spent the rest of the war. In 1944, he married Mamie Hunter Burnett of Spartanburg, SC. At the war’s end, after resigning from the Navy in 1945, he moved first to Columbia, SC, then to Rhodhiss, NC before joining his brother, Charles Willard, at Willard Lead Products, Inc. in 1957. In 1960 they added Galvan Industries, which Clarence ran as a subsidiary company until 1988. Clarence then led Willard Industries until his own retirement in 1992. During retirement, if there was anything Clarence enjoyed more than gardening at home, fishing on the coast, golf at the Charlotte Country Club, or fellowship at the Piedmont Club and the Goodfellows Club, it was traveling, particularly when taking his grandchildren on special trips selected for each. Clarence was preceded in death by his brothers, William Grant Willard of Spartanburg, SC, Charles Randolph Willard, and Henry Dotterer Willard of Charlotte and is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mamie Hunter Burnett Willard; by his sons, Carlisle Bobo Willard and his wife Stella Lee Walker Willard of Durham, NC; and by Laurens Garlington Young Willard and his wife Elizabeth Andrews Willard of Charlotte, NC, and by five grandchildren: Hunter Hall Willard Arton and her husband Michael of Stamford, CT; Laurens Young Willard and Austin Andrews Willard of Charlotte, NC; Carlisle Walker Willard of Chapel Hill, NC; and Margaret Burnett Willard of Charleston, SC. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 22, 2:00 PM, at Christ Episcopal Church, where Clarence was a member for the last 55 years. There will be a reception in the Blue Room after the service. Memorials can be sent to Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Hospice and Palliative Care, 1420 East Seventh Street, Charlotte 28204, or the charity of your choice . The family would like to express their deep gratitude to Steffeny Harris, Shelia Aziz, Umeka Lynch, and Rose Young for providing the very best of loving care and attention for Clarence. TH Robertson Funeral Service Lic. is serving the family www.throbertson.com. Tags: 1940
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