World's greatest Son, Father, Father-in-Law, Husband, Grandpa and Great Grandpa.

World's greatest Father-in-Law anyone could ever have. It was a very great day when I met you. I will always remember your smiling face. You are at home now so I will see you at home. 

"Fair winds and following seas" - Your son-in-law Bill from an old Marine, Semper Fi .

I'll be with you soon. Keep the faith. See you soon dad.

-Bill and Cherri

In remembrance of my husband Carrol Clason
By his wife, Wilma Clason

In 1948, Carrol was aboard the destroyer Stickell 888 which was ordered to rescue the Flying Arrow that the Chinese were holding on the Yangtze River. That was concern for the United States at the time, and the story was printed in the paper. After the rescue, four destroyers went to Saigon. They were the first American warships to enter Saigon harbor for over 40 years. The harbor was so shallow and muddy, one of the ships rudders got caught in the mud. The Vietnamese were ruled by the French at that time. While there, the communists attacked our ships. All hands had to stand with rifles every four feet along the rails to prevent the Communists from capturing the ships. When that battle was over, 19-year-old, Carrol was so scared that when he took out a cigarette to smoke, he got so sick he threw the entire pack into the harbor. He quit smoking that day. 

Shortly after that he went home on leave and met me, Wilma; we married three months later, with my parents’ permission. During that time, Billy Graham came to Portland with his big tent. I, raised in a Christian home, invited Carrol to go to the meeting with me. When Billy Graham gave the alter call Carrol asked if I would go down with him. Hand in hand we walked down that sawdust trail together. That night he gave his heart to the Lord, and his life was changed forever. 

continued...


Carrol enjoyed the outdoors immensely and taught our family to do the same. I heard my father once say that Carrol would rather go hunting than eat. That was pretty much true. Much of our family’s food came from the forest. Family entertainment was mostly camping in the woods or clamming at the seashore (about 60 miles from home). There were also Easter egg hunts in the woods, picnics on birthdays, and wiener roasts anytime we were near a fire. Carrol would often say, “Let’s go for a drive,” and we would all pile in (no seat belts necessary) and end up who knows where. On our way we might buy a loaf of bread and a package of bologna or salami. I would make the sandwiches and hand them back. That is, unless we decided to build a bonfire and roast wieners and marshmallows. Those were happy days! Carrol seldom planned well ahead of time, and these little trips were usually spontaneous. Our eight children were all close in age, the oldest being just over 7 years old when the twins were born, so I had to learn to be spontaneous as well. I often kept a suitcase packed with all necessities they might have needed, such as extra clothes and diapers (forever diapers). 

Carrol was a very hard-working man. He worked on our house that was built in the early 1900’s. It was comfortable, kept us warm, and it had two bathrooms. He kept the children busy too. He bought an old house, and tore it down, board by board. He had the children pounding on old railroad ties, and straightening nails. He added a garage onto our house, using the lumber from the old house. When not working on the house or other projects, he grew gardens and planted flowers. He kept order, and the children (and sometimes his wife) obeyed! He was also a good mechanic and kept our older cars running. 

continued...


Many summer nights after work, and dinner, he would take all the children fishing at a creek or river nearby. I never did fish, but always went along to keep an eye on the children. I would watch in amazement as he so patiently prepared eight fishing poles and handed them out one at a time. Finally, he prepared his own pole so he could start fishing. He was interrupted many times to pull fishing gear out of the trees or bushes that the children had got tangled. Carrol was not known as a particularly patient man but was very much so in these situations with our children. 

After the children were grown and left home, we moved to Payette in 1979 where we lived for many years. Later we moved to Ontario for about 10 years. 

We spent a few months in Thailand volunteering at a refuge camp when the Cambodians were fleeing into Thailand escaping the Pol-Pot regime. Our son, Robert was already there, which encouraged Carrol and I to go as well. 

Carrol was also a professional truck driver, and after moving to Payette he drove a milk tanker from Caldwell to Vancouver. Later he drove truck filled with mushrooms from the plant in Vale to Utah. 
His last few years he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and cognitive dementia. His greatest joy was visits with family, car rides with his children, and going out for ice cream. 

Goodbye sweetheart. I love you. I will see you soon. 

Yours forever, Wilma! 



AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Carrol Eugene Clason

21 août 1930 – 3 avril 2019

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