DONALD BOOTH CLUTTERBUCK
1929-2020
Donald Booth Clutterbuck, 91, a wonderful and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away surrounded by family on July 5, 2020 in Houston, Texas. He was vibrant until his very last moments, enjoying lunch with his family, drinking wine, talking about a book he was reading, his time in the Navy, and celebrating the Fourth of July. He collapsed from what is believed to have been a heart attack.
Don was born on March 3, 1929 in Beaumont, Texas to Donald James and Catherine Booth Clutterbuck. Don spent his formative years in Beaumont, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fun filled summers were spent with the “Boisterous Booth Family” in Beaumont and visits to see his Aunt Mary and his Clutterbuck grandparents in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He graduated from Marquette High School in Tulsa in 1947, where he was class president for three years and was remembered for his ready smile and friendliness. In 1951, Don graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following several months as a roustabout in the oil fields of West Texas, he then reported to the Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.
Don served 3-1/2 years in the Navy aboard the Destroyer Escort USS LeRay Wilson, based out of San Diego. He completed two 6-month deployments in the Pacific, including making port in the Philippines, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and Pearl Harbor. Don rose to the rank of Lieutenant JG and served as Chief Engineer on the ship. During his time on the Wilson, he was the officer in charge during an unfortunate incident when the Esther Williams Trophy was “liberated” during his watch. Don had escorted an officer from a visiting Australian Navy ship into the wardroom when, by “vile stealth and low cunning,” the bathing suit photo was stolen and taken away by a waiting ship.
Early on in San Diego,
Don met LaDonna Marie Bicknese, “a spirited and beautiful young lady from Minnesota” he once wrote, who had moved to California to teach elementary school. They soon engaged and married in July 1954 on the Naval Air Station in Coronado, California.
Following his discharge from the Navy, the couple moved to Austin, Texas, where Don earned a M.A. in Geology at the University of Texas. He then went to work for Shell Oil Company for 10 years, living with LaDonna in Midland, Del Rio, and Corpus Christi, Texas; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. At some point in those early years in the field, Don may have spent the night in a Mexican jail, along with his survey team, following some loud serenading of local residents outside a bar. He later enjoyed a long career working for several independent oil & gas companies, ultimately serving in Senior VP, President, and COO roles with Inexco, McCormick, Tipperary, OXOCO, RPI and AFG Energy. After moving to Houston in 1965, Don and LaDonna would live there (with a one-year sojourn in Denver, Colorado) for 55 years.
Don retired in 1999 and spent much of his free time volunteering at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Don was an enthusiastic docent, sharing his love of geology at his much-loved Weiss Energy Hall and in the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, and educating himself and the public about special exhibits as diverse as the Titanic, the Vikings and the world’s largest Russian Faberge Egg collection. His 15 years of volunteer service there won him many accolades and friends with whom he had engaging lunches.
Don was a longtime member of both the Houston Geological Society and the Petroleum Club, where he served on the Board for many years as well as a term as President. He spent many an enjoyable lunchtime at the Petroleum Club, joining in numerous “round tables” and keeping up with friends in the industry. He also greatly enjoyed his many years on the tennis courts, often with his longtime friend Charlie Church, with whom he had many mock disagreements over line calls. In later years, Don and Charlie transitioned their tennis games to weekly breakfasts and lunches.
Don was particularly proud of his sons, John and Jim, and was a devoted father. Favorite memories include making peach ice cream in the garage together, going on hunting trips, playing tennis, regular weekend water-skiing outings to Lake Somerville and Lake Travis, and supporting their youth sports. Don also loved giving “buzz cuts” with a hair trimmer on the backyard patio and supervising their teenage chores of mowing the yard and tending to the home landscaping. Don lost his lawn services after the boys went to college, so he proudly returned to those duties (which he found relaxing), and only at the very end of home ownership did he finally relinquish his mower, edger and spin-trimmer to paid professionals. Don did gain an adopted a third “son” when John and Jim went off to school: a standard poodle named Sargent, whom he and LaDonna spoiled to no end.
As the Sargent years came to an end, Don started welcoming his beloved grandchildren into the family. He adored and doted on Caroline, William, Miles and Zoe.
Don was an avid reader of history, mysteries and thrillers, devouring the works of Dick Francis, John D. MacDonald and Robert Ludlum in the early years, and later coming to Michael Connelly, Robert Crais and James Lee Burke. He was in the middle of Connelly’s latest when he passed.
The Clutterbucks moved to the Hallmark in 2012, where
Don developed many new dear friends. Don quickly assumed various community duties, including serving a few terms as President of the residents’ association and as Treasurer of the semi-annual employee gift fund. He was also a regular on the “welcome team” that held lunches for new residents. The family is grateful for the friendships and support he received from everyone at the Hallmark, especially after LaDonna’s passing in 2018.
LaDonna was truly the love of Don’s life. During their 63 year of marriage together, they enjoyed raising their two sons, playing gin rummy, tennis, waterskiing and boating, dinner and dancing at the Petroleum Club, taking driving trips across Texas, travelling to Hawaii and Italy, and cruising Alaska and Northern Europe. Their marriage was filled with great joy and love, and no one could ever have matched the loving care that Don gave to LaDonna in her later years, spending every moment at her side and sleeping for weeks in chairs in hospital rooms. He was a model of true devotion.
Don was preceded in death by his wife LaDonna, his parents, his cousins Barbara and Travis Parker, and his daughter-in-law Shelley Day Clutterbuck. He is survived by his sons John Clutterbuck (wife Anne) and Jim Clutterbuck, and his beloved grandchildren, Caroline, William, Miles and Zoe.
He is also survived by dear cousins Anne Parker Stark of Dallas and Tom Parker of Bali, Indonesia and many friends. The family is deeply grateful for Lupe Ramos for her more than 45 years of friendship and service. The family also wishes to thank Chris, Carol, John, Lawrence, Chad, Guido, Natalie, Serek, P’Andre, Nino, and Mike at the Hallmark – each of whom made Don’s life more enjoyable.
A private memorial service will be held later in Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.