Clyde Ross Cloar, USAF (Ret.)

Lt. Col. Clyde Ross Cloar, USAF (Ret.), 88, of Mount Pleasant, SC, died April 20, 2016. His Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Mt. Pleasant, at 11:30 a.m. and conducted by The Rev. Frederick Baldwin. Burial will be private. The family will receive friends in the Narthex at Rodenberg Chapel from 10:30 a.m. until time of the service. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR, INC., MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL.

Born in San Bernardino, California February 15, 1928, he was the only child of Lee Webster Cloar and Grace Ross Cloar. Commissioned into the US Air Force upon graduation from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1950, he married Mary Lou Vollmer of Norfolk, Virginia the following day in a "crossed sabers" ceremony at the Academy Chapel.

A pilot, Clyde flew B-29s for 10 combat missions in Korea, C-47s for most of his career, and the H-1 and H-3 helicopters during 100 combat missions in Vietnam. He was heavily decorated: 3 times with the Distinguished Flying Cross, 6 times with the Air Medal, and with the Bronze Star, among others. He taught Air Force ROTC at Pennsylvania State University and at the Virginia Military Institute. Military assignments took the Cloars to Guam, England, and across the US to South Carolina, where Clyde retired in 1973.

After completing a Masters degree at The Citadel in School Administration, Clyde taught at Trident Tech for a decade and retired again. Early residents of Franke at Seaside, Clyde and Mary Lou moved to a villa there in 2003, enjoying an active lifestyle until her death in 2005. He subsequently met and married Virginia Ross Busche of Franke in 2007.

Once an avid participant in Franke Chapel services, Clyde was known by many as a Greeter. Others will recall his light-hearted poems, published in "Clyde's Corner" of the Franke newsletter as long as his sight permitted. He was also known for his quick wit and sense of humor. Others in Seaside Farms knew him as the "Dog Whistler." For a 10-year period, he could be seen early in the morning on his adult 3-wheeler, greeting dogs and their owners by name. Each of "Clyde's dogs" received a scratch behind the ears and a treat from his pocket, and a good day was judged by the number of dogs he saw on his route.

Clyde is survived by his loving wife, Virginia, and two devoted daughters, Lila Cloar and Lisa Sutton (David), and two very spoiled granddogs, all of Mount Pleasant.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Charleston Animal Society at www.charlestonanimalsociety.org or 2455 Remount Rd., N Charleston, SC 29406.