Obituary: Clyde William Wilson (Nov. 9, 1928 – May 21, 2012)

Clyde William Wilson, United States Navy, Retired.

A Del Norte County resident of 40 years, Clyde  passed away at home with loving family at his side on May 21, 2012. He was born November 9, 1928, in Tacoma, Wash.

Clyde joined the Navy as soon as he turned 17 in 1945, at the end of WWII, and one of his first tours was on the Navy Cruiser USS Pensacola to the South Pacific. The Pensacola was designated as one of the first test ships when Clyde took part in our country’s historic Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, testing the atomic bombs dubbed by the military as Abel and Baker. Two years after the testing, the Pensacola remained radioactive and was sunk off the Washington coast. He also served on the USS Badoeng Strait carrier from 1949–1954, among others.

Prior to his retirement, he was stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco, where he met then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Clyde retired from the Navy, July 15, 1965. After his retirement from the service, he worked as a Boiler Engineer for the Cohen Company, San Francisco, Napa and Vallejo General Hospitals.

Clyde had settled his family in the Bay Area raising four children and enjoyed water skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing and camping. He belonged to the Fleet Reserve Association, the Badoeng Strait Association and served as President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Clyde was also a member of the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association. He moved home to Del Norte County in the early 1970s where his parents were then residing, with his wife and two youngest daughters.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Phyllis; his son Carson Wilson and his wife Laverne of Crescent City; daughters Portia Lomax of Phoenix, Ariz.; Stormy Borelli and her husband Daniel and Toni Phillips and her husband David all of Crescent City. Clyde is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Evelyn Wilson, brothers Walter and Merle Wilson and son-in-law David Lomax.

Private family services are pending.  Arrangements are under the direction of Wier’s Mortuary Chapel.

— Submitted by Wier’s Mortuary Chapel