My brother-in-law, Clive, died yesterday after several years of struggling with lymphoma. It sounds like he was fighting till the end - a few weeks ago he went to the casino, a favorite pasttime. He died at home with family and friends at his side. Clive was born in Kansas; after a stint in the military he went to the University of Kansas and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He then joined IBM and moved to New York State. I remember how excited Clive and Marilyn were when he got the job because he would be earning around $535 a month. They also lived in Texas, Colorado and for about four years in Frankfurt, Germany before ending up in New Mexico working at Los Alamos for IBM. Some of my memories of Clive - he couldn't spell worth a whit but he cheerfully did crossword puzzles which always came out well because he misspelled words; when they lived in Texas City, Pat helped Clive build a Heathkit television - they were pretty excited when they turned it on and it actually worked; we had some great evenings of Bouree when they lived in Texas; he had a whole garage full of home brew; he was very hard of hearing but read lips very well; he liked some of the strange German food like eels; he loved to garden and he loved the mountains. Goodbye, Clive.
Comments (9)
Clive was my grandfather. . i didn't know him much, but i do have his genes. . .I'm the daughter of his son Clive Charles Whittaker III. . i only wish i knew paw paw better. . .thanks for writing about him.
Posted by alissa | February 4, 2008 2:41 PM
Posted on February 4, 2008 14:41
It was sad to hear of Clive's passing.
I can vividly remember visiting Houston as a
young whipper-snapper (maybe 10-11)and Clive was
kind enough to take Margarent and I crabbing.
Believe it was when the lived in the Texas City
area.
Posted by Tim Karl | May 4, 2004 9:20 PM
Posted on May 4, 2004 21:20
Here are some of my recollections of Clive whom I met shortly after their return from Germany (1987?): that I was being analyzed, as Clive analyzed everything, like a math or software problem, over a period of years without really knowing it and yet on a day-to-day basis feeling very welcome and accepted by him, although hard to explain, here are a few examples that stand out; a chess match early on that endeared myself and/or assured Clive only one game was ever necessary, a question about how thermocouples work, I'm sure Clive knew being a double E, but was testing the waters so to speak, and inquiries into long term plans, and short term for that matter, shortly after moving to Idaho, he was genuinely concerned about the welfare,livelihood, and interests of his family. Speaking of interests, the best and only barley wine I've ever sampled was made by Clive, in fact his special stash (every good homebrewer has one) was reserved for our visits to NM, and it was a sad day when we finished off the last bottle, coincidentally, I finally brewed some barley wine in January, it's not yet ready but when it is, I will swill to Clive!
Posted by Brian Westphal | April 15, 2004 10:33 AM
Posted on April 15, 2004 10:33
My Dad was the true nerdy engineer with the pocket protector and everything. Dad spoke about building the TV many, many times and always thought I should try it. Even now he had information on spreadsheets that he had written the programs for because he didn't like using Excel. I used to tell other kids that my Dad worked on rockets to make being a computer programmer sound more exciting.
Thank you Cynthia, for writing so eloquently about my father.
Posted by Carol | April 12, 2004 1:05 PM
Posted on April 12, 2004 13:05
I remember visiting with Clive and Marilyn either when visiting you and Pat when I was 16 or soon after I moved to Houston. Their children were just toddlers....it was a very nice tribute, indeed.
Posted by Kathleen | April 9, 2004 12:49 PM
Posted on April 9, 2004 12:49
Your tribute to Clive was so poignant. I don't think that I ever met him but I was touched by your words and memories.
Posted by Leah | April 8, 2004 11:52 AM
Posted on April 8, 2004 11:52
Clive sounds like he was a fascinating person. My sympathies to you and especially to Marilyn and the rest of their family.
Posted by The Real Jfer | April 8, 2004 6:05 AM
Posted on April 8, 2004 06:05
Jfer used to date a rocket scientist but in the end gave him to her roommate.
Posted by Jfer | April 7, 2004 11:57 PM
Posted on April 7, 2004 23:57
Dale adds that he was fascinated to learn that Clive worked on the software that drove the LEM on Apollo 13, which was used to determine that it would make a viable lifeboat. So, in a way, he touched something that influenced thousands of people. He also said they wrote it by accident and never thought it would be used. It's not every day you meet a rocket scientist, he adds.
From me, that was a really nice tribute, Mom.
Posted by Elizabeth | April 7, 2004 8:18 PM
Posted on April 7, 2004 20:18