Major Clarence W.

Needham

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IN LOVING MEMORY

Major Clarence W. Needham

Mar 15 1923 - Mar 13 2009

Maj. (Ret) Clarence W. Needham, 85, passed away Friday, March 13, 2009 at Wilson N Jones Medical Center in Sherman, Texas. He was born March 15, 1923 in Escanaba, Michigan. to Allen and Tena Marie Sundquist Needham. He married Betty Jo Pierce on June 17, 1952 at the Perrin AFB Chapel in Denison, Texas. Clarence first served his country by joining the Navy after Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941; he was discharged in October 1945. After he left the Navy, Clarence went to Northwestern College on the GI Bill to get a commercial pilot license. Then he joined the US Air Force in 1948 on the Aviation Cadet Program at Perrin AFB. Clarence was a jet fighter pilot instructor for twenty years. He loved flying and was stationed all around the world until his retirement in Dec. 31, 1965. After he retired he continued to fly; he was a private flight instructor and kept his pilots license until he was 75 years old. In addition to his passion for flying, Clarence also enjoyed fishing and hunting. He was a member of the Sherman Country Club. Clarence is survived by his daughter, Anna Botello of Sherman, Texas, son, Danny Needham and his wife, Sharon, of Show Low, Arizona brother, James O’Brien of Crystal Falls, Michigan, grandson Joseph Botello of Sherman, Texas, and granddaughter Kristin Botello Luna and her husband, Trey, of Bedford, Texas. He was preceded in death by his wife, his sister Fay Marie O’Brien and his parents. A graveside service with Military Honors provided by an Honor Guard from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas will be held at 11a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Whitewright, Texas.
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