Clyde R. Douglass

Clyde Russell Douglass, middle child, comfort dresser, pretty darn good cook, accomplished traveler, and special grandpa, dad and husband went to the great campground in the sky on Saturday, November 9, 2024—just two days short of his 81st birthday. He was born on a chilly day, November 11,1943 in Greybull, Big Horn County, Wyoming to Wilbur “Web” Houston Douglass and Marjorie “Marge” Estelle (Peters) Douglass. He had two brothers, James David Douglass, born 1941 and Richard Wayne Douglass, born 1946, who loved to roughhouse and play “I rule the couch” before they watched their favorite tv show—probably Hopalong Cassidy. When they were young, the three brothers pooled their money to purchase an American Flyer train (it had to have only two tracks—just like the Burlington Northern their Dad worked on) and he loved having his granddaughters still be able to run that model train.

Growing up, he attended schools in Greybull and graduated from Greybull High School in 1962. He loved attending reunions with his long-time classmates with whom he shared many wild memories and some best-to-forget stories. He was elected class president all four years of high school, and he played center on Greybull’s only championship football team. He may have dropped the ball a couple times but that is hard to document. He was renowned for his dedication to delivering “The Billings Gazette” despite those frigid mornings he had to get out of bed, pick up the newspapers, fold them, bag and carry them by bicycle and fling them at the front porches of his many subscribers, come rain, sleet or snow. One of the skills he mastered was counting upward by 35-cents as fast as possible in order to collect his monthly fees, hoping even the beekeeper would throw in a tip. And he still remembered the watered-down hot chocolate provided at the gas station—despite being just ok, it was free and warmed his insides on many a winter morning.

Clyde attended the University of Wyoming in 1962. He was the photo editor of the University’s student newspaper, “The Branding Iron,” and took and processed photos for all the university student publications. Before he finished his degree, he was inducted (enlisted) in the U.S. Army as a private (as were many of his buddies and young men in 1967). He attended Army Information School in Fort Belvoir, Virginia and transferred to U.S. Army headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. There he was staff writer for “Army in Europe” magazine. As the Seventh Army non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the Public Information Office, he coordinated all office operations during field exercises. He finished the last of his university classes by correspondence and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism in June 1969. He was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant after only 19 months in the service and received an honorary military discharge in December 1969.

He returned to Wyoming, bringing home his 1970 gold-green AMX (hottest color that year), which he drove home from its build-site in the states. He took a job as the Public Information Officer for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department where he served for four years before switching to the Chief of News and Information for the Wyoming Travel Commission in 1973. He poured his heart into stories, advertising, and public relations for even the smallest communities in the state. His feature stories, national magazine & newspaper assignments and special promotional publications helped make the WTC one of the most highly respected state travel agencies in the nation. He was instrumental in creating the Backroads and Byways of Wyoming Program for the state to get tourists to visit out-of-the-way locations.

As fate would have it, he invited a lovely lady, Wendy Laurel Young, to a Game & Fish Department Christmas party in 1971 and they had such a great time they married on August 11,1973 in Esterbrook, Wyoming. Clyde and Wendy recently celebrated 51 years together. They had two children and a few dogs along the way. He leaves behind that family he was terribly proud of--his wife, Wendy, his daughter, Davona Kim Douglass Radliff and her husband, Andrew (Andy) Martin Radliff, his son, Christopher (Chris) James Douglass and his wife Shanna Lynn McKinzie Douglass, and the loves of his life--four granddaughters—Lyla Raye Douglass 9, Madison Lynn Douglass 7, Joelle Mabel Douglass 4, Sloane Meadowlark Radliff 4.

Clyde also leaves behind his older brother, James (Jim) Douglass and his wife Marilyn, & children Stephanie, Brant, Hayley & Merrick & their families; his sister-in-law Rowena Douglass and her children Quincy & Amber & their families and his sister-in-law, Lynne Young Juskauskas and brother-in-law David Young & his partner, Irene Davila, as well as many cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents—Web and Marge; his younger brother, Richard Wayne Douglass, and his nephew, Kelby James Douglass.

He really disliked hypocrites, straight-ticket voters (he wanted voters to choose the best person), leftovers, home-canned peaches (a family carry-over from WWII) and Wyoming wind. He loved a good joke & to make people laugh, his AMX (which is still in the garage), his small-town upbringing, shrimp cocktail, Jonathan Winters, learning to speak German, his German buddy Harald, home-grown tomatoes, his college buddy Harold, his numerous jeeps & blue trucks, piano music, Christmas morning, Folgers coffee (black only), good German beer, making fried chicken, playing hearts, his UW football team (mostly when it was winning), his retirement RV, and making donuts with his granddaughters. He especially excelled at self-taught woodworking and created many built-ins, bookshelves and cabinets and filled many requests to help fix wooden items. He was the number-one yeast-roll provider for family gatherings and his cinnamon rolls and caramel corn were hard to beat. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, dad, and grandpa. People knew him as a funny, generous fellow and his family will always hold him close through his stories about growing up in Greybull, his adventures in Europe, his ability to remember where he was when he ate a certain food, and photos of every castle in Germany.

He was a life-long member of the B.P.O.Elks, Chapter 1431, Greybull, and a member of Sigma Delta Chi, Professional Journalism Society. His wish was that people consider a donation to the American Red Cross to assist veterans, or to the Cheyenne Genealogy & Historical Society so his wife has help finding his Scottish ancestors and their connection to Mary Queen of Scots as well as the long line of Douglasses, Houstons, Buchanans and a myriad other in-laws and outlaws.

The family would like to thank the physician caregivers, the nurses on the 6th and 8th floors of the Cheyenne Medical Center, and the angels at Davis Hospice Center for their willingness to joke with him and care for him until the end. His final protest was that his family would throw him a teary-eyed funeral, so he requested that he be buried in a tuna can in the backyard.

 The Dash (author unknown)

The dash on our tombstone—between the years.

It matters not how much we own—the cars, the house, the cash.

 What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash.

 So think about this long and hard…are there things you’d like to change?

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel…and be less quick to anger…show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile…remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy’s being read with your life’s actions to rehash…would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash? 

A celebration of Clyde’s life will be held later in the spring.