NORMAL — Clark R. Carlyon, 85, of Normal, passed away peacefully at 7:42 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 14, 2010) in his home.
His memorial service will be at 6 p.m. Friday at Carmody-Flynn Williamsburg Funeral Home, Bloomington, with full military honors. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Cremation rites will be accorded and Chief Carlyon’s cremains will be buried in the Pacific Ocean off of a naval warship with full military honors.
Memorials may be made to Advocate BroMenn Hospice.
Clark was born June 20, 1925, in St. Louis, Mo., the son of John T. and Lucy Erlacker Carlyon. He married Virginia Redfield Aug. 19, 1949, in Hillsboro, Mo. She survives.
He is also survived by one son, Steve (Kathy) Carlyon, LaCrosse, Wis.; one daughter, Cathy (Geoff) Kemp, Tremont; five grandchildren, Katie and Kristen Carlyon, Ben (Amanda) Kemp, Jason (Erin) Kemp and Lauri (Kalman) Nagy; and three great-grandchildren, Owen Kemp, Colin Kemp and Lilian Nagy.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Robert Carlyon.
Clark enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, and had a distinguished 20-year naval career. He served in World War II in the Pacific Theatre as a member of the expeditional forces which occupied China and as a tail gunner and radio operator on PBY aircraft. Clark also served as an air crew member during the Berlin Airlift in the European Theater. Chief Carlyon was on active duty during the Korean conflict and the Cuban missile crisis. Chief Carlyon’s last duty assignment was as the Navy recruiter in Bloomington. After retiring from the U.S. Navy in 1959, he went to work as a purchasing agent for Eureka Williams Co. in Bloomington, retiring after 25 years.
Clark’s passion for life is reflected in the joy he brought to those around him, especially his five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He will always be remembered by his family as a loving husband, father and grandfather.
