Clifton B. Horne

Clifton B. Horne, 90, of Pawcatuck, died on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008, at Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Middlebury, Vt.
He was born July 17, 1918, in Millbury, Mass., a son of Walter B. and Gladys Bartlett Horne, and brother of twins Barbara and Walter (both deceased).
He married Deborah Sumner (deceased), his wife of 55 years, on June 25, 1941.
Survivors include a daughter, Barbara S. Horne, of Champaign, Ill.; a son, Robert S. Horne, of Middlebury with his wife Patricia; three grandchildren, Mira McCombe, of Chicago, Ill., Anne Spafford of Raleigh, N.C., and Matthew Horne, with his wife Tracy, of Middlebury; and two great granddaughters, Martha Alexis Horne and Meredith Rae Horne of Middlebury.
Mr. Horne graduated from Rhode Island State College (now the Univ. of Rhode Island) in 1940 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He held R.I. pilot's license #39, and taught flying in the Civilian Pilot Training Program on the Rhode Island campus and environs from 1940-1942.
In 1977, he retired after 35 years at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, after serving as program manager on the Apollo fuel cell program and project manager for the development of new fan-jet engines for Jumbo Jets such as the 747.
Mr. Horne's 1997 autobiography "Ramblings: The Life of a Family Man, Aviator, Aeronautical Engineer, Jack of All Trades, and a Damn Yankee" tells of life lived to the fullest - the rescue operations at Narragansett, R.I., during the Hurricane of '38; command performances with the Coventry Players; public service on Andover, Conn. town boards and the regional school board; seagoing adventures in the "Sourpuss" and racing with the Catboat Association; 40 years of flying small aircraft, and AOPA membership; blacksmithing, including demonstrations at the Mystic Seaport Museum; 75 years of woodworking that included reproductions of 18th-century antiques; and always, music, good friends, and the presence of Irish setters.
A memorial gathering in Pawcatuck will be scheduled later this season.
Memorials may be made to Addison County Home Health & Hospice, P.O. Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753, and/or Hospice Volunteers, P.O. Box 772, Middlebury.