Clifton will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 66 years, Mary Jane (Powell) Jenkins, his brother Robert Eugene Jenkins and his wife Marilyn Jenkins, his sister Donna McCauley and her husband Duke McCauley, his son Preston Lewis Jenkins and his wife Kay Smith, his son Dudley Wayne Jenkins and his wife Theresa Jenkins, and his daughter Patti Jane Jenkins. He will also be fondly remembered by his grandson Darrel Wayne Jenkins and his wife Jessica Jenkins, his grandson Casey Lewis Jenkins, and great-grandchildren Emma Jane Jenkins, Keeleigh Jenkins, Dean Paul Jenkins, and Brynlei Jenkins.
Clifton was born April 6, 1934 to Clifton Preston “Rip” and Lois Elizabeth (Bellanger) Jenkins. Raised in the Beaumont area, he was an alumnus of French High School where he excelled in football and basketball. Mr. Jenkins married his high school sweetheart, Mary Jane Powell in 1953 and worked at Mobil Oil in Beaumont for 36 years, retiring in 1993.
An avid sportsman, Clifton enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, and skiing. He won 1st place in multiple Texas State and South-Central Regional slalom championships and finished 5th in the 2000 US Nationals. He was also a longtime member of First Baptist Church Deweyville.
Clifton is preceded in death by his father, Clifton Preston Jenkins, his mother, Lois Elizabeth (Bellanger) Jenkins, and grandson, Preston Keith Jenkins.
A gathering of family and friends will be held on Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at Forest Lawn Funeral Home beginning at 11:00AM. A Celebration of Clifton's Life will be held at 2:00PM in the chapel at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, with a committal service to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
The family asks that donations be made to the Cancer Research Institute (https://www.cancerresearch.org/).
