Dr. Clarence William Canrobert Jr.

Dr. Clarence William Canrobert Jr., 91, of Conover, NC, passed away peacefully August 20, 2024, surrounded by his family. The cause was cancer, which he endured a number of years with characteristic good humor, aspiring to celebrate with his lifelong love, Shirley, their 70th wedding anniversary. They did so on June 27 of this year.

Clarence — “Doc” to his friends and “Pops” to his family — was born March 4, 1933, to Clarence Canrobert Sr. and Myrtle “Marie” Stanley Canrobert, in Topeka, KS. His father’s position in High Point, NC, at a manufacturer of glider spars for the military, brought the family to North Carolina. As the war effort subsided, J. E. Broyhill asked Clarence Sr. to be superintendent of his furniture plant in Newton, NC, and the family settled in Conover.

A bright student, Clarence Jr. had skipped two grades by the time he entered Conover Graded School as an eighth grader, where a certain sixth grader first noticed him. A friend welcomed him to the youth group at Concordia Lutheran Church, and he joined the same confirmation class as that certain someone, Shirley Moehlmann, whose uncle was the pastor. (As an adult, Clarence would serve multiple terms as the congregation’s treasurer and president.) Clarence and Shirley attended Newton-Conover High School together, but it wasn’t until Clarence left a note on the desk where Shirley sat, before a change of classes, that they united. He asked her to sit with him at the upcoming basketball game, a request that would join them for over seventy years.

Clarence became an Eagle Scout in high school and then attended UNC-Chapel Hill’s pre-dental program for two years, before heading to Emory to finish his degree. He married Shirley his junior year, and she headed back with him to Atlanta, to a veterans’ village. After his graduation from dental school, Clarence and Shirley moved to Beaufort, SC, where he fulfilled his two-year military obligation, as a Navy lieutenant, on the Parris Island base for Marines. More teeth were pulled than filled at that time, and he joked with his patients about needing to consult the manual. But he was proud to serve his country and remained a patriot.

Returning to Conover, when the local dentist retired, the young couple brought with them two boys, Allen and Mark. Twin daughters, Laura and Louise, soon followed, along with another son, Charlie. Clarence and Shirley’s presiding faith and humor fortified their union, as did their mutual promise that the one who left first got all of the kids.

As Clarence’s dental practice succeeded, he and Shirley began attending UNC games, and they would follow the Heels across the country, including Hawaii, and loyally support the Rams Club. He would become a world-traveler, visiting Mexico, Europe, Thailand, and China, some many times over. Graced with talent and persistence, Clarence golfed, but only until he shot par, his goal. He was a founding member of a local dimes-and-quarters poker club that has continued to meet monthly for over sixty years. He earned his pilot’s license, which allowed him to fly on weekends to the North Carolina coast to fish, his most passionate, enduring hobby, that led him on Wednesdays (the other sacred day) to High Rock Lake and, when time allowed, to Alaska.

In dedication to his profession, to keep his hands dexterous he took up wood carving, of ducks and dogs (he was a dog-lover), and latch-hooking, of fine, highly-patterned rugs that adorn the family home. He served his community quietly, helping refugees at his practice, many of whom in later years would return to pay him for work he never charged.

A sign at the Canroberts’ back door announces that an old fisherman lives there with the catch of his life, and yet such catching takes two. A kind, charming, loving, dignified, generous man was Clarence — a keeper to cherish.

Dr. Clarence William Canrobert Jr. is survived by his wife, Shirley; his son Mark Canrobert and Mary; his daughter Laura Canrobert; his daughter Louise Hester and David; his granddaughter Sarah Canrobert Dorrier and Reese and great-grandsons, Sam, Beck, and Art; his grandson Chris Canrobert and great-granddaughter Olivia; his grandson Ian Canrobert and fiancée, Jessica; his grandson Luke Canrobert; his nephew Nathan Moehlmann and Vicki Vanderlinden; his niece, Gretchen Moehlmann and Jon Risner and great-nephew and -niece, Arno and Ila. He was preceded in death by his brother, Merle Eugene Canrobert; his sister, Lavonne Blankenship (Bob); and his sons Allen Canrobert (Susie) and Charlie Canrobert.

The family is grateful, as was Clarence, for the expert and compassionate medical care he received in Catawba County and beyond.

A service will be held at Concordia Lutheran Church, Sunday, August 25, at 4:00, with a receiving from 3:00 to 3:45. Inurnment will follow. Reverend Michael Geml of Concordia Lutheran Church will officiate. Please attend a blood drive in Clarence’s memory, or donations to the scholarship fund at Concordia School or Carolina Caring Hospice are welcome.