William Townsend Cluse

Bill was born in Syracuse, NY on October 3, 1941 to William H. Cluse and Virginia Townsend. The family spent many years in Binghamton and eventually moved back to the Syracuse area. Bill attended Broom Tech Community College where he met Donna Theobald, his loving wife of more than 58 years. He also attended and graduated from Syracuse University. Bill served in the United States Airforce as a Command B52 Pilot. Later, he flew in the Air National Guard with “The Boys from Syracuse” and then retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. For 30 years Bill worked for IBM in the marketing division and later retired as a principal for the IBM Global Consulting Group.

Bill is survived by his wife, Donna Cluse. They have two daughters, Holly Cluse (husband, Charles Reeves) of Shelburne, VT and Kathy Odendahl (husband, Paul Odendahl) of Winter Springs, FL and four grandchildren, Jack, Owen, Ashley and Ryan. Bill also is survived by his brother Robert T. Cluse of Manlius, NY.

Bill and Donna raised their family in the Syracuse area before moving to New Jersey. In 1997 Bill and Donna retired to Southport, NC and built their dream house in St. James where they made many wonderful friends. They golfed, boated and traveled the world living the best retirement one could ever imagine.

Bill was a voracious reader and appreciated all genres of music especially jazz. He enjoyed playing golf with his family and friends. When he first moved to St. James Bill was a member of the Men’s Golf Association (MGA) including two terms as president. He was known for founding and running the Father/Son Golf Tournament.

A memorial service will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 209 East Nash Street, Southport on Friday, April 8th at 2:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Trinity United Methodist Church or the Wounded Warrior Project.

Online condolences can be made at www.peacocknewnamwhite.com.

Peacock - Newnam & White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport, NC.