Clarence Samuel Corning

Clarence Samuel Corning passed away peacefully at home on April 12, 2023, at the age of 86, with his cherished daughters holding his hand.  He was pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Mona Sue, his daughter Loella Janice Friend, and his infant sister Gynell Fay.  Funeral service will be Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel of Piersall Funeral Directors, 733 Butternut Street, with burial to follow at the Hawley Cemetery.  Visitation will be Wednesday, April 19, 2023, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Clarence married Mona Sue Lumpkin on July 29, 1967, at Baker Heights Church of Christ in Abilene. They raised six children together and were able to celebrate their 50 ^th wedding anniversary with friends and family in 2017 at the Abilene Zoo, where they had first met.  The story that she found him in the monkey cage has been largely discredited.

Clarence and Sue were long-time members of the Minter Lane Church of Christ and Highland Church of Christ in Abilene.

Born in Winters, Texas, on January 24, 1937, to Delbert and Lola Corning, he grew up on the family farm in Eula, often running around on his grandad’s nearby farm as well.  Clarence went to school at Eula, where he was a star on his high school basketball team and was a cool dude with a sweet customized 1946 Ford Club Coupe.  He went to college at Abilene Christian College, where he took his degree in Agriculture.

Clarence had a lifelong love of farming and animal husbandry, and he often kept cows, pigs, chickens and goats.  He was famous for doing things like building a pen in the corner of the living room to keep a sick baby pig while nursing it back to health.  He helped his kids take care of many exotic pets through the years, including rabbits, squirrels, possums, bullfrogs, and a baby deer.  His faithful dog Daisy was his constant companion in his final years, usually lying in his lap or sleeping with him in his bed.

After college, Clarence worked for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service before settling into his lifelong trade as a printer.  He was a renowned pressman, famous for his ability to match ink color by eye in an age before computer color matching.  He worked for print shops and media companies in Abilene and elsewhere and ran his own printing business for several years.

Clarence loved classic cars, and in addition to his high school hotrod, at various times he owned a Ford Galaxie 500, a 1953 Chevy sedan, and several classic pickup trucks.  After he retired, he found a 1953 GMC pickup truck for his son and oversaw a beautiful multi-year complete restoration of it.

Named for both of his grandfathers, Clarence Corning and Samuel DeSpain, Clarence Samuel came from a pioneer heritage.  His grandmother, Ollie DeSpain, moved her 10 kids from far west Texas across the plains in a covered wagon on her own while Grandpa DeSpain had to work a job elsewhere.  While camped, she had to run off some passing cowhands with a rifle when they became a bit too interested in her bevvy of teenage daughters.  His paternal grandfather, Clarence Corning, while a teenager, left home looking for adventure and ended up volunteering to deliver a message to General Custer’s army just before the fateful battle.   After that, he returned home to raise a family and became a judge.  Clarence Samuel was always proud to have inherited his grandfather Clarence’s Colt 45 pistol.

The DeSpain clan, his mom’s family, was large and close-knit, often sharing elaborate family dinners prepared by Lola and her sisters.  The women, including Aunt Thelma, Aunt Erma, and Aunt Ruby, would cook while the men were out hunting or fishing.  Sometimes after dinner, Grandpa DeSpain, a highly regarded local fiddler, would pull out his fiddle and share some tunes.  Clarence’s cousins, Rudine Smith, Kubis Brown and Wayland Lilly, are now the last remaining member of that great generation of the DeSpain family.

In addition to his cousins, Clarence is survived by his children, Jay (& Jana), Steven (& Tatyana), David (& Julie), Cristen (& James), and Caryn Johanna, as well as nine grandchildren, Nathan, Levi, Jacob, Sarah, Danielle, Ellen, Maddie, Brianna and Chrys, and sixteen great grandchildren.  His first great-great grandchild is expected in May.

Condolences may be offered to the family online at www.pbfuneraldirectors.com.