Clifford, Elden 'Cliff' Walter

Elden “Cliff” Walter Clifford, 91, of Guttenburg, formerly of Robins, died Oct. 18, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids. After years of keeping cancer at bay, he succumbed to his illness after a recent occurrence. Memorial services: 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at Bethany Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Randy Nord. Visitation: one hour before the service at the church. Military honors by American Legion Post 727, Cedar Rapids. Arrangements by Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids.

Cliff was born March 21, 1020, in Bovey, Minn., the son of Edward and Lena (Kuhn) Clifford. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II in the South Pacific. Cliff married Bernice Johnson in 1941, and they had two daughters, Charlene (Gary) Albertson and Sandra Johnson. They later moved to Robins, Iowa and then to Denver, Colo., where he retired from Bell Telephone in 1975. Cliff and Bea became snowbirds, going to Texas in the winter and back to Minnesota in the summer, where a fishing pole was always close by. Bea passed away in 1988.

In 1990, Cliff married Mary Lou Schafer, a close friend to both Bea and Cliff for many years. He became “Pop” (aka dad) to Marvelene (Rick) Foreman and John Schafer (girlfriend, Cori Pitcher). They moved from Robins to Garrison, Minn., where they built a new home. Cliff and Mary Lou continued the tradition of having the fishing pole close by and being snowbirds in the winter. Mary Lou passed away in 1997, just shy of their eighth anniversary,

Cliff was a loving grandpa to Cindy, Erica, Tanya, Melissa, Clifford, Saul, Aaron, Nicolette and Trenten. He has seven great-grandchildren and was looking forward to becoming great-grandpa to another great-grandson in January.

He was also preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Elva McClintick and Dorothy Cedarberg; brother, Leonard Clifford; and special friend, Betty Larson.

A special thank you to Dr. Kenneth Cearlock and the nurses and staff at Hospice of Mercy and Mercy Medical Center for the compassionate care provided to Clifford during his last days.

Memorials may be directed to the American Cancer Society or Disabled American Veterans.

Please sign the online guest book and share a memory about Cliff at

Published Oct. 21, 2011, in The Gazette