Clifford George Horbury

Clifford G. Horbury, 97, passed away on January 19, 2017 in Flint. He was born on December 15, 1919 in Philadelphia, PA. All of his life, he had a love for the water, sailing, and the sea. As a child, Cliff built his first boat from two broken canoes. His friends called him “Huck Finn.” As a talented carpenter, he built several sailboats during his lifetime. Because of his love of the sea, Clifford joined the Navy in 1942. In July 1944, while stationed in Quonset Point, RI as a 2nd Class Aviation Machinist Mate, he saw Helen Anthony, a Navy WAVE, sunning on a raft off the beach. Cliff told his friend, “I’m going to marry that girl.” His friend replied, “You better go meet her first.” Cliff swam out to the raft and introduced himself. After getting her barracks number, he wrote her a letter asking her to meet his parents. She agreed to travel to Philadelphia with him and was surprised when Cliff introduced her to his family as his fiancé. Two months later, they married and on September 11, 2016 they celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary. They had three daughters, Donna Cariker (husband Jerry), Janet Pollard (husband Danny), and Cindy Burch (husband Hans); 4 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by on sister, Doris Bower. He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Florence Horbury and his sisters, baby Florence, Anne Kollhopp, Thelma Christian, Verna Adair and daughter, Janet Pollard. Cliff moved the family to Texas in 1949 to work at LTV, retiring after 31 years as a lead airplane mechanic, servicing planes for company pilots, including John Glenn. He then retired a second time from the Arlington ISD after 12 years as a maintenance supervisor. At age 72, Cliff and Helen moved back to central Pennsylvania for 7 years, then returned to Texas, living in Burleson for 7 years, then Flint for the past 12 years. Cliff lived a rich, full life with loving friends and family. He will be greatly missed until such time he is reunited with those who have loved him. Services with Military Honors will be held on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 1:30 PM at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas, under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. If desired, memorials may be made to The National World War II Museum at P.O. Box 97336, Washington, D.C. 20090 or www.nationalww2museum.org.

Clifford George Horbury

December 15, 1919 - January 19, 2017