Clifford Harold Baize Jr.

Clifford Harold Baize, Jr., 67, of The Hills, TX, died peacefully at home on Thursday, June 15, 2017, with his loving wife Cheryl by his side. He endured a valiant, 7-month battle with brain cancer, while keeping his characteristically positive attitude.

Cliff was born on December 12, 1949 in Beaumont, TX. He was the son of Clifford Harold Baize, Sr., a Detective for the Beaumont Police Department & Rachel Ann Baize, an LVN and Respiratory Therapist. He was the third of four boys, all two years apart. He grew up in a loving family who spent their free time exploring the great outdoors—camping, hunting and fishing. He was a Boy Scout during which time his mother served as troupe leader. Summers were filled with neighborhood sandlot baseball games, hide and seek, and swimming in the city pool at Alice Keith Park while their Mom taught swim lessons. On occasion, they were treated to a “B-rated horror movie” at the Circle Drive-In Theatre where Cliff Sr. would work the security shift. When old enough to drive, Cliff enjoyed heading to the Gulf of Mexico for surfing (“shooting the pier”) and spending many weekends with friends soaking up the sun and sand at Crystal Beach. Cliff’s favorite vacation spot was the beach, and his Mom would recall his desire to become a Beachcomber when he was a child.

Showing his entrepreneurship and sales expertise at an early age, Cliff would weave colorful potholders to sell. His Grandmother Flynn would purchase his supplies, and she was his best customer. She was impressed with his ability to convince her of the fact that certain potholders were more expensive than others because of the particular yarns that were used. Cliff also had a newspaper route for the Beaumont Enterprise & Journal. In the early morning hours he would deliver the Enterprise on his bicycle and later in the day he would deliver the evening Journal. The rewards of a warm eclair from the owner of Daniels’ Bakery in the morning and a hot Po’boy sandwich from the owner of Patillo’s Sandwich Shop in the afternoon were a bonus to his pay. During the summer months of high school, he would arise early to tend to the greens at Pinewood Country Club. He graduated from Forest Park High School in 1968. As he worked to pay his way through college, Cliff claimed the early experiences he had working on a shrimp boat, on an ocean-going tugboat, in the belly of an oil tanker, and finally working in the Admitting Department at Baptist Hospital were more than enough to keep him focused on graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Lamar University in 1973. Cliff was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity during his tenure at Lamar.

Cliff married the love of his life, Cheryl Ellen Danna, on August 13, 1976. They were blessed with two beautiful children, daughter Brittany and son Trey, whom were his pride and joy. There was nothing on this earth that was more important to him than his wife and kids. His family was his greatest joy and his motivation for achieving his goals.

One year after their marriage, Cliff and Cheryl began new adventures as they moved away from their hometown of Beaumont to Houston, then to Dallas and finally to Austin, Texas. In 1990, his successes in his business career allowed him to achieve a lifelong dream – to retire at age 40 and move to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Along with his wife and children, he moved to the Lakeway community where he resided for 27 years.

Retirement began with the fulfillment of owning a ranch. In true Texan style, Cliff hopped on his horse (gasoline powered black Suburban) and rode the range (Texas county roads) to find the perfect 436 acres on the outskirts of Blanco, Texas. From raw land and scattered streams, Cliff’s vision and supervision produced Rancho La Montana Vista, a beautiful working, exotic game ranch that was openly shared and enjoyed by his family and friends alike.

After the ranching days, Cliff spent time supporting the interests of his kids and proudly attended their many school activities. He was instrumental in the efforts to develop and establish baseball and football programs for the youth in the Lake Travis area, advancing from SAFFA to the Pop Warner League. He was a coach and volunteer for the Lake Travis Youth Association and volunteer in the Lake Travis High School Athletic Booster Club. Every spring break during the children’s school years, Cliff took his family on vacation, including cruises to the Caribbean and trips to Hawaii, Aruba, the Bahamas and the family favorite of Grand Cayman.

Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers games, UT Football and the State Fair of Texas, F1, Nascar and Grand Prix Racing, street festivals and flea markets, traveling, and beach gatherings, these were the favorite pastimes that Cliff shared with family and friends.

Cliff once had a passion for dirt track racing. He road circles in the dusty, dirt oval ¼ mile tracks, where drivers and spectators in the stands sported bandana face masks. Cliff “Boom Boom” Baize drove a modified ’73 Olds Cutlass named “Glory Days” #36 and was supported by his “after work” pit crew made up of company employee fans “wrenching” on the car each week at the office warehouse. The team prepared the car for the upcoming weekend event after previous weekend’s “demolition” derby. According to Cliff, the only thing you needed to remember about racing was “go fast, turn left”. His claim to fame from this brief venture was that he had become a “professional” race car driver because he won $35.00 (once) in a race!

The movie theatre was one of Cliff’s favorite escapes. Movie trivia was his forte as he could remember scenes and actors from movies current and those well passed. He was a huge history buff—it was wise to be aware of your time commitment when entering a history museum with Cliff, for he and you would be there awhile reading every word on every marker.

Golf became his hobby of choice in retirement and included many tournaments, trips and excursions. As he worked on his game, he developed many close and lasting friendships, and he enjoyed a camaraderie with a large group of golfing buddies from Austin to Dallas. He never met a stranger and was ready and willing to play a round of golf with any newcomer, young or old. As he moved into the position of booking tee times for the “Baize Weekend Group,” his weekly emails were anxiously awaited by many. He had a flair for writing and attaching pictures and jokes to further express his point, many of which were exasperations of his very own golf game or tournament play. He was affectionately nicknamed “Godfather”, as he had the ability to keep the peace among an array of personalities.

Cliff lived his life to the fullest. He was a leader, a goal-oriented problem solver, and he enjoyed the art of negotiation. He was always willing to share his knowledge and sound business or financial advice to anyone who might ask, yet he never expected anything in return. He had a heart of gold and the greatest sense of love and compassion for his family members and his friends. He was honest, fair and a man of his word. If Cliff was your friend, you could rest assured he had your back. His sense of humor and quick wit, followed by a huge smile or mischievous grin, were Cliff Baize traits that will be etched in our hearts forever.

Cliff was Manager of the Port Arthur Country Club (1973 – 1976) and the Beaumont Country Club (1976 – 1977). He was a Sales Rep for Uni-Copy Corporation, Houston (1977 – 1979); V.P./Partner of Copyprint Corporation, Houston (1979 – 1981); President/Partner of Uni-Copy Corporation, Dallas (1981 – 1982); and Executive V.P./Owner/Partner of Innovative Office Systems, Inc., Dallas (1982 – 1990). After retiring for over 17 years, he worked as a Consultant for J.C. Delivery Inc., Dallas (2007 – 2011); and as Grants Coordinator for Alternative Fuels at the Texas Railroad Commission, Austin (2011 – 2014).

Cliff is preceded in death by his parents, Clifford Baize Sr & Rachel Ann Baize; Uncle Doyle Ray Baize; and parents-in-law Charlie Danna Sr & Eleanor Danna.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Cheryl; daughter Brittany Leigh Baize (Salmeron Barnes); son Clifford “Trey” Baize III; Aunt Myrtle Lee; brothers: Leonard (Alice) Baize; John (JoAnn) Baize; Jim (Irene) Baize; Lenny (Janie) Danna; Charlie Danna; Richard (Diane) Danna; nieces/nephews: Raelynn (Eric) Earnheart; Heather Baize; Kathryn Baize; Kimberly Baize; Kenton Baize; Karlan Baize; Marc (Chrissy) Danna; Paige (Kent) Deatherage; Wes Garbee; Christopher Garbee; Ashley Garbee; cousins Steve (Donna) Gregory; Darlene (Gary) Hall; Charlene Baize; precious great-nieces, Elizabeth, Abigail, Marissa, Terriana, Lilly, Audrey, Kate, Caitlyn; and awesome great-nephews, Andrew, CJ, Caden, Charlie & Cameron.

A Celebration of Life will be held on August 26, 2017 at The Hills Country Club, 26 Club Estates Parkway, The Hills, TX, from 3 – 5 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Cliff’s memory to the American Brain Tumor Association by visiting http://tinyurl.com/CliffBaize

The family would like to thank the staff at Texas Oncology for their kind and compassionate care.

Arrangements under the direction of NEPTUNE SOCIETY - Austin, Austin, TX.