Frederick Burr Clifford

Frederick Burr Clifford of Georgetown died on Epiphany, January 6, 2011, at the age of 96. He was born on June 3, 1914 to Fred J. and Genevieve Burr Clifford in Samaria, Michigan. Raised in a Methodist parsonage, he was educated at Northern State Teacher’s College in Marquette, Michigan and received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, then a B.D. from Oberlin and began serving small churches in southern Michigan. He then was invited to teach at Adrian College which led to his career in academia. From there he went to Emory at Oxford in Oxford, Georgia, and to Southwestern University in Georgetown in 1958 as Professor of Humanities. He served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for fifteen years, before returning to teaching for a couple of years before retiring. He was active in the First United Methodist Church of Georgetown, and taught the Pathfinders Sunday School class for many years. Dr. Clifford was fond of gardening, photography, and of music, having served occasionally as church organist. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Doris Jean Clifford; children, son John, and his wife Bernie, of Early, TX; son David, and his wife Judy, of St. Louis, Missouri; daughter Jeanne Ellen Weiss, and her husband Larry, of Woodinville, Washington; grandchildren Michael Clifford of Chicago and Ellen Clifford of Los Angeles. A Memorial service will be held Monday, January 17, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Georgetown. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the organ fund at First United Methodist Church, or the F. Burr and Doris J. Clifford Endowed Fund at Southwestern University in Georgetown.