Citadel Alumni Obituaries

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