My Uncle Clarence has passed . . .

Clarence Bowling

Another death in the family, as you can read here below in the official obituary:

Clarence Calvin Bowling was born November 12, 1926 in Salem, Arkansas . . . . He departed this life on September 15, 2018 at Salem, Arkansas. Clarence attended Salem schools and graduated from Salem High School in 1946. He graduated from Arkansas Tech in Russellville with an Associate's Degree in Agriculture. Clarence was a veteran of the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany during the Korean War. He taught agriculture to Veterans at Norfork, Arkansas. Clarence received his Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture and Master's Degree in Entomology from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Clarence married Ava Jo Perryman of Salem on September 4, 1953 in the Salem First Baptist Church. In 1955, after obtaining his master's degree, he accepted a job as an entomologist with the Texas A and M University System in Beaumont, Texas. He worked to prevent insect crop destruction to rice and soybeans. He and Ava Jo had three children, Mark Brian, Cynthia Gail, and Sara Jo. Clarence and Ava Jo lived in Beaumont for 48 years. They were members of Amelia Baptist and Westgate Memorial Baptist Churches. Clarence served as a deacon for many years in both churches. He was a men's Sunday School teacher during these years. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and gardening. He was a likable and dependable neighbor and a loving and caring husband and father. His personality and character were pronounced by strong stability. Clarence retired early from the Texas A and M University System. He began a crop consulting business dealing with rice and soybeans. Earlier, he received a patent for insect collection kits of which he made a small business. He acquired other patents relating to his work. He also wrote articles pertaining to entomology in various books and magazines. His career involved traveling to a number of foreign countries to share his knowledge concerning entomology and agriculture. In 2003, Clarence and Ava Jo moved to Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. They were members of Salem First Baptist Church.

The complete obituary can be read here, but if I were to add enough of my own thoughts to depict the sort of man he was, I would have to write volumes, most of them about his kindness combined with his strong determination to do the right thing when the right time arrived. I attended Baylor University (Waco, Texas) from 1975 - 1979, and my years there overlapped with the years his daughter Cindy attended (1974 - 1978), so I was often in Beaumont celebrating the longer holiday seasons of Christmas and Easter.

My brother Shan spent more time with Uncle Clarence than I did, even working for him in entomology, if I recall, so I hope he'll post a comment here that will fill in the details that I don't know as well, but especially on the man's sense of humor, which I actually did know well, but which Shan knew better.