Charles Benton Clizer

Charles Benton Clizer, Jr., age 85, passed away May 17, 2013, at his home at Wheatland Village in Walla Walla. He was born Aug. 30, 1927, in Spokane, to his parents, Dr. Charles and Katherine Clizer of Tekoa, Wash. He graduated from high school in 1945 while serving in the United States Coast Guard during the final year of WWII. He entered Washington State College in the fall of 1946 and graduated with a B.S. in 1949 with a double major in chemistry and zoology.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Merilyn Grace Pratt, June 25, 1949, in the Tekoa Methodist Church. Following graduate studies at UW, he began his teaching career in Dayton, in the fall of 1951. He completed his MEL in 1953 at Eastern Washington College in 1953.

In 1957 he became principal of Dayton High School, and in 1962, the superintendent of Dayton Public Schools where he remained in that position until July 1969, when the couple and their four children moved to Walla Walla. At that time Mr. Clizer took the position of business manager and assistant superintendent for finance for the Walla Walla Public School District. In 1974, he was named assistant superintendent in charge of certificated personnel and instruction. He retired in 1982.

He was a member of Washington Association of School Administrators and was instrumental in school modernization programs at Prospect Point, Berney, and Blue Ridge Elementary Schools and Pioneer and Garrison Junior High Schools. Other community activities included four years as president of Community Concert Association, Board of Directors of the Walla Walla Symphony Society, and ten years as a member of the Walla Walla City Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. In addition, he served on the Christian Aid Discovery School Curriculum Advisory Board, Salvation Army, Walla Walla County Mental Health Board, twenty-five years serving Meals on Wheels, and thirteen years as a member of the Borleske Stadium Board, he was a dedicated member of the Democratic National Committee.

Charles was an avid Cougar fan and with his wife established an educational scholarship for graduate students. Traveling was a special joy as well as attending sporting and other activities of his family. He had a great sense of humor and brought laughter and smiles to many. Mr. Clizer was a member of Pioneer United Methodist Church where he sang in the choir and served on various boards including the United Methodist Foundation of the Northwest.

He was a member of Kiwanis since 1960 serving as club president and two terms as division Lt. Governor, and he took a special interest in serving as a director of the Walla Walla Camp Kiwanis Foundation.

He will be greatly missed as a husband of deep devotion and a father who loved his family above all else.

Mr. Clizer is survived by his wife of 63 years, Merilyn; four children, Teresa (John) Jeffreys of Lacey, Wash., Wes (Sharon) Clizer of Clarkston, Wash., Claircy Clizer and Charlotte (Kraig) Klicker of Walla Walla; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; his sister, Mary Sue Thompson of Colfax; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The memorial service will be Friday, May 24, 2013, at 3 p.m. at Pioneer United Methodist Church, 209 E. Birch, Walla Walla. Memorials may be given to Pioneer United Methodist Church, the Charles B. Clizer, Jr. Graduate Fellowship in Education Administration at WSU, or Camp Kiwanis Foundation of Walla Walla through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder, Walla Walla WA. 99362.