Clifford Scott Northway

Clifford Scott Northway was born in 1952 in Tucson, Arizona. He was the first born child of Robert and Doreen Earle Northway as well as the first grandchild within the Earle family. His uncles remember that they were amazed at his ability to recognize the make/model of various cars at a very young age. One time, when he was about three, they took him to a car lot to look around. His uncles thought they would test him, and he named several when a salesman came up behind them. About that time, his Uncle Bill said, “What kind of a car is that, Cliffie?’” and before he could answer, the salesman said, “That’s a Buick, Sir!” (Apparently the salesmen thought the toddler was the only one with automobile knowledge!)

During his early years in Arizona, Cliff enjoyed moments of playfully teasing his younger sister, Heather. Even though he was young, he found clever ways to divert attention away from himself such as the time he quickly blamed his sister for a large letter “C” that had mysteriously appeared on a wall or another time when he stated that nurses at a hospital had put pepper in his jello , which meant, of course, that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible!

1960s

The 1960s was a time of childhood innocence for Cliff. He loved listening to music or watching old slapstick movies and television for hours on end. But he also loved reading books – especially those that told stories of adventure, super heroes, or mysteries, such as the Hardy Boys. Several people remember Cliff reading on the front doorstep to a captivated crowd of neighborhood kids. Some of his teachers at the time had even commented that his reading was at such an advanced level that he could easily skip several grades and be fine.

In addition, he now had two new sisters, Pam and Hillary, who he could playfully torment by providing endless tickling sessions or by doing such things as rubbing his feet on the carpet and giving them static electric shock. Still, one of his best moments that will forever live in family memories is when he and his friend managed to scare Heather and her friends during a sleepover by finding witty methods to make them believe he was a ghost haunting the house. He also had a mischievous side and would often fake an asthma attack in order to terrify unsuspecting babysitters into a fit of panic before rolling on the floor with laughter and telling them that he had pulled a fast one on them.

As with so many children, Cliff loved to join his best childhood friends in an outdoor game of playing tag, hopscotch at the bus stop, or pretend play with toy soldiers. He loved going to baseball games, where he would collect autographs of the professional players. And although he often complained about having to practice, his music instructors commented on many occasions that he had a natural talent for playing the clarinet and piano. He also showed a great interest in coin collecting at an early age and eventually passed this interest on to his son, Blake and his nephew, Riley.

1970s

Once Cliff graduated from Vista High School in 1970, he couldn’t wait to explore his independence. He was the first in the family to go to college and his mom was so proud to send him off with psychedelic sheets and “Funky, Groovy Threads” that were so stylish at the time.

He was extremely excited to head out of state and eventually earned his B.A. degree in History from the College of Idaho in 1974. His college friends remembered that he always had the most positive outlook on life, and enjoyed playing pranks, while his mom and dad often laughed at the fact that the only time they heard from Cliff was when he needed money. Cliff also loved to bring college friends home for spring break and summer vacation.

During the summer of 1971, one friend, Ethan, came to live with the Northway family. He and Cliff worked for Cliff’s Dad, learning the electrical trade. During this time the two young men shared a room where Ethan slept on a roll-away bed. Ethan reminded us that after a fight about politics or a job, Cliff would become sullen, grab the roll-away, tell Ethan, “I want you out and I want you out NOW!” He would then send Ethan and the bed off to the rec room, usually for the night. Once in a while, Ethan might even spend two days in the rec room, but he said he would usually be permitted back in Cliff’s room the following morning before they headed out to work. All was forgiven until the next time they had a flare-up.

Ethan also shared other stories such as seeing “Jesus Christ Superstar” live on stage. Another time, Cliff and another friend, Brian, were in an 8 am French class at college, which the two of them often skipped when they overslept. The instructor, Madame Buzzard, would walk over to the dorm and bang on their doors. They would pretend to be asleep and never answer the door. But one time, Cliff left the door unlocked and she walked right in! She shamed him into getting up and escorted him across campus to class. He never left the door unlocked again! Ethan also said that he remembers Cliff with warmth, love, and humor and that he felt lucky to have known Cliff and shared part of his life with him.

During this time, Cliff also had a muscle car that he loved. It was a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle 396 SS (Super Sport) and his kids said that he would always talk about loving to speed in it. He would often tell them stories about how the car slammed you back in the seat when you hit the accelerator but would drink gas like no other.

Cliff left for college as an innocent child but by the time he graduated, he had become a responsible young man. He moved to Washington D.C. in order to work for the FBI and at the same time, earned a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from California Lutheran University.

1980s

In 1980, Cliff met Robin (Pease) Thomas and became a father to her son, Tyler, after their marriage. As an adult, Tyler developed a special bond with his Dad through a shared excitement for collecting vintage, antique, and historic posters. In 1983, his son, Justin, was born and they later found a strong bond in sharing common political beliefs as well as their dedication to police work and enthusiasm for funny stories. In 1988, his son, Blake, was born. Blake and his Dad enjoyed their connection in watching slapstick comedy movies, especially the “Three Stooges”, as well as a hobby of coin collecting. Each one of Cliff’s sons felt that the bond they had created with their Dad actually laid a strong foundation for the young men they became and for whom he always spoke so proudly.

The 1980s brought great joy into Cliff’s life. He was enjoying immense respect from his colleagues in the Boise Police Department. His partner at that time remembers Cliff as a strong, level-headed, professional officer. Although he loved his career as a police officer, his greatest joy and sense of pride came from his role as a father. As mentioned previously, his first three sons were born during this decade and not one thing meant more to him than caring for his children. He loved getting up with them at night to cuddle and rock them back to sleep. He treasured the moments where he could see them shine at school and he loved just “hanging out” with his boys. Some of the best moments that his kids remember were “camping out” – whether that was in front of their fireplace in their home or in the woods with groups like “Parents Without Partners”. Cliff was always happiest when spending time with his kids, whether it was television, going horseback riding in Arizona, traveling to other states, enjoying the rides at an amusement park with them, or visiting the San Diego County Fair every summer. Cliff was definitely a kid at heart his entire life!

1990s

Cliff’s kids love to remember the laughter and quirky sense of humor he brought into their lives. For example, during a rough patch in the early 1990s, Cliff’s kids recalled that he owned a 1980s Oldsmobile Coupe that he affectionately nicknamed his “Uncle Buck” car (after the John Candy movie of the same name). Cliff was very much like the good natured Uncle Buck and this car was very much like the one in the movie. The family laughs as we remember how the interior roof fabric had separated and would sit on his head as he drove. People in other cars would stare at him as he drove down the street with the fabric sitting on his head! His sons also chuckle when they recall how he would always hit his head when he would get in and out of the car and when he would press the garage door button and try to run under the door but would inevitably get hit by the door. Every time he did, he would, without fail, shout out “Son of B….ch! G D I…!!” The kids came to expect it every time he got in and out of the car.

In 1997, Cliff finished up his teaching credential from CSU San Marcos. He finally found the career that he loved and gave it his all for the next ten years. And being a teacher for 6th grade middle school children proved to be his true passion. He often joked that he related well to them because; as he put it “All men are really just 6th grade boys at heart!” He loved teaching low income students about history, writing, and reading and found great joy in bringing the classroom alive with hands on projects and museum displays in his classroom. He wanted to bring his lifelong joy of reading to these kids to help them realize they could travel all over the world inside a book. He inspired many of his students to stretch themselves by using the “Accelerated Reader” program. Not surprisingly, his devotion to his profession and to his students was evident to others as he received “Teacher of the Year” award soon after he started.

In the mid 1990’s, Cliff also met the love of his life, Karen. They married in 1999, bought a house in Oceanside and he quickly became a devoted father to her son, Ryan. Ryan stated he and Cliff loved to talk about baseball card collecting and he felt a special connection with Cliff during late night talks when neither one of them could sleep. Life was busy with both Blake and Ryan involved in sports. In addition, both Cliff and Blake were involved in Boy Scouts. Cliff loved mentoring the kids and helped them earn badges in a number of different subjects.

The love that Cliff and Karen experienced together was evident from the start. Karen said that she never once doubted how much Cliff cared for her. Karen and Cliff had a very strong passion and devotion to all the children in their blended family. Cliff truly admired Karen’s quiet strength and enduring love which she demonstrated so well throughout their marriage and especially during his difficult illness.

2000s

The last years of Cliff’s life brought a wide spectrum of emotions for Cliff. He was enjoying his time with his wife, Karen. They loved going camping, visiting antique shops, exploring historic neighborhoods, and attending summer performances at the outdoor Moonlight Amphitheatre.

In 2002, the same year that he received his diagnosis of Myelofibrosis, Cliff became Godfather to his niece, Gillian. This was a role he treasured and took very seriously for the next 8 years. This was also a time that he witnessed all four of his sons graduate from high school. In addition, he was so proud to see Tyler and Justin earn their college degrees, get married and give him five wonderful grandchildren (Cameron, Noah, Mattie, Chase, and Amy) whom he treasured and showered with gifts at any chance he had. He loved every moment he had with them and even took a trip with them to Disneyland just 4 months before he died, despite the fact that he was in great pain. Another moment that gave Cliff tremendous delight was when he watched his son, Blake, earn the Eagle Scout Award from Boy Scouts.

Despite the increased pain and discomfort he had from his disease, Cliff never let that stop him from celebrating and experiencing the joy of each accomplishment and ceremony. During this time, he always made sure he attended as many school activities and performances as possible for his beloved nieces and nephews. He also loved tradition, like the annual family party and barbeque at his mom’s house for Fourth of July. Cliff would always come dressed in a patriotic t-shirt and always brought the patriotic music to play.

Each member of the family shared something special with Cliff. As teens, Heather and Cliff drove to high school together, enjoyed hockey games and concerts and as adults, they shared a love of vintage poster collecting and exploring antique shops. Hillary and Cliff shared a true devotion to the teaching profession and picking out “just the right Christmas gifts” for the loved ones. Pam enjoyed the special connection they had as the only two “Southpaws” in the family. She was also much honored to have him as a groomsman in her wedding. But the bond he shared with his mother is almost impossible to put into words. They shared a unique sense of humor and many times, the two of them would be laughing hysterically about a joke or story while the rest of the family would sit smiling or rolling their eyes. Many times, Cliff would call his mom first thing on a Sunday morning because he thought of something he wanted to share with her or laugh about. And on the rare occasions when they did disagree, they never stayed mad at each other for very long. Cliff was his mother’s first child and she learned to be a mother from him. She was always there for him during good times and bad. He recognized all the sacrifice she had given him and always tried his best to show his appreciation to her through thoughtful gifts. The affection that they shared for one another was something very few mothers and sons truly experience.

During 2004, Karen was laid off of her job (with severance) and the family decided to use some of the money to buy annual passes to Disneyland. Cliff was like a kid in a candy store and would come back after each Disneyland visit with many souvenirs of the great time he had. Blake and Ryan still talk about what an amazing year that was and how many wonderful memories they have of those trips. Also, in 2004, the family drove up to Idaho to see Justin and Kelly get married. They traveled through Oregon on the way back home thinking that someday they might move there. Other family vacations taken through these years included trips to Hearst Castle, the Grand Canyon, and the Rocky Mountain National Park while visiting relatives in Colorado.

Cliff was a true historian his entire life. Most of all, he greatly admired those who had served during World War II and given the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. He always wanted to make sure heroes and true American patriots were recognized for what they accomplished. Karen’s father was a Marine during World War II and Cliff was fascinated by the stories he would tell. As a Christmas present one year, Cliff spent countless hours researching a battle that his father-in-law had fought in and created a large plaque to commemorate his service. It was a true labor of love to honor a veteran he respected. As a tribute to another veteran, in 2007, he arranged for a little backyard ceremony to honor an elderly neighbor who had served during the Berlin Airlift.

In 2007, Cliff reluctantly took a disability retirement when his health prevented him from teaching any longer. It was very disappointing for him to leave the career he loved, but he became passionate about another dream, which was to write a screenplay. He wanted to write about a historical event and he spent many hours reading about how to write a screenplay and researching little known events that would provide a good story for his screenplay. Unfortunately, he was not able to complete the script but he thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent on the project.

The last dream that went unfulfilled for Cliff was to move up to Idaho to be close to his grandkids and watch them grow up. He talked about it many times and the hope was that once he was able to control his disease he would have the freedom to move to an area that wasn’t in the forefront of the medical research being done for Myelofibrosis. His access to this research at UC San Diego Medical Center was crucial to any plans for the future. His doctor (Dr. Jamieson) fought hard for him to be included in a clinical trial and everyone was thrilled that tests were showing an actual decrease of the disease in his body after taking the drug for just a short time. Unfortunately, he had to stop taking the drug when he got pneumonia and his body was just too weakened to recover.

Although Cliff never envisioned himself as a hero, his family, friends, and doctors knew otherwise. Everyone around him recognized that he had become a pioneer by offering to participate in a clinical trial drug study in order to help others who might suffer from his disease in the future. And they also came to be truly amazed at his bravery and ability to put his own troubles to the side in order to fight his disease. He continually lived life to the fullest and always did his best to create happy moments for those around him. His love for his family was without question. And his determination to fight against all odds was incredible.

Arrangements under the direction of Eternal Hills Memorial Park, Mortuary and Crematory, Oceanside, CA.