Henry Clyde Woolsey's Obituary
Henry Clyde Woolsey of Longview, Texas passed away Friday, November 6, 2020, at the age of 87. After several months of declining health, Clyde died peacefully with his beloved wife Sarah by his side. The family will receive friends at Rader Funeral Home on Tuesday, November 10th from 5pm until 7 pm. Interment will be held at Grace Hill Cemetery as a private ceremony at the request of the decedent.
Clyde was born October 4th, 1933 in Proctor, Texas to Henry Callan “Doc” Woolsey and Lora Knight Woolsey. He grew up in various parts of West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona as his dad helped build natural gas pipelines, so they moved frequently. He graduated from Kermit High School in 1951 and attended Texas Tech before enlisting in the United States Army where he served with the Armed Forces Far East 187th Regional Combat Team during the Korean Conflict. After returning to the United States, he attended North Texas University where he graduated with a BBA in 1959. He later was employed with Texaco, Inc. where he met his future wife Sarah. Texaco transferred him to the East Texas Area, so he and Sarah married and moved to Longview in 1969. They recently celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary.
In 1977, Clyde left Texaco to start his own business which he incorporated in 1978. He later went on to start two other companies, all operating in the Oil and Gas production business. First Baptist Church of Longview was Clyde’s go-to place to take his family and he was a devoted Baptist father. He was known to mow his lawn on Sunday’s still in his suit. He never missed a church basketball practice. Clyde had many wise sayings that he expressed to both his son’s and their group of friends. If they were performing in a speaking competition or theater play, he would say “when you are first on stage and nervous, just smile and everyone will smile with you.” When his sons were learning to drive, he would say “Always have a way out.” When it was time for his sons to be employed, Clyde would echo his sales experience and say “If you can sell, you will never go hungry.”
Clyde loved being part of the family team effort and his wisdom and business acumen was unparalleled. His oldest son Chris worked along side with Clyde since 1986, his youngest son Craig and his wife Nadine since 2001. His wife Sarah was his lifelong partner in every aspect including business partner and co-worker. His family will miss him greatly.
Clyde was preceded in death by his father and mother, a sister Silvia Jannette O’Donnell and his step-son Chris Thompson. He is survived by his wife Sarah Woolsey, son Henry Craig Woolsey and wife Nadine of Longview and their children Callan and Hannah; nephew Patrick O’Donnell, wife and children of Las Cruces, New Mexico, nieces Kathy Miller of Conroe, TX, Kelly Gonzalez of Corpus Christi, Kearney Rogers of Corpus Christi and Kerri O’Donnell, together with their spouses and children.
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