Carlen Keith Cline

Carlen Keith Cline, 77, left his earthly home on July 19, 2025. He was the son of the late Hudson Homer and Fannie Bishop Cline. A Seaman E-3 in the U.S. Navy, Carlen served on Guam during the Vietnam War.
He is survived by his brother, Eddy Faron Cline and his wife Denise; his niece, Tabitha R. Cline; great-nieces Margaux, Gigi, and Phoebe Mills; his nephew, Eddy Cline Jr., and his wife Jessica; great-nephews Isaac Cline, Jude, and Jett; great-nieces MyLiah and Maiden Cline. Also left to cherish his memory are his special cousin, Russell Lockhart, and Russell's wife, Ronnie Lynn; her father, Ronald Price; and numerous other cousins.
Carlen worked for 27 years at Leggett/Belk, where he managed the men's and children's departments. He bowled in a league in Vinton, where he made lifelong friends, loved playing tennis, but most of all, he deeply loved his family and cherished his friends.
He met his best friend, Linda Mann, about 14 years ago. Together they frolicked through his retirement years-taking line dance and Tai Chi classes, and dancing to the music of his favorite bluegrass and country bands. He especially enjoyed their bus trips to Myrtle Beach with the Vinton and Salem Senior Centers, and their flights to Clearwater Beach, Florida, for the sand sculpture competitions. Their friendship was full of laughter, adventure, and love. Linda will miss him more than words can ever express.
Graveside services will be held at Old Dominion Memorial Park with military honors on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 1:00 P.M., with Pastor Bobbie Pickle officiating. The family will receive friends after the service at the home of Russell and Ronnie Lynn Lockhart.
His family wishes to thank Ronnie Lynn Lockhart for not only spoiling him during his lifetime but being willing to take over the challenging job of handling his finances, medical decisions and being there for him through the last four years. He could not have chosen a better person than Ronnie to serve in this crucial role. She was there with him every day during these most difficult final weeks.
The family would like to also thank the staff of Davis and McDaniel Veterans Care Center, where Carlen resided for the past four years. The staff loved, respected, and honored him, and took wonderful care of him when he could no longer live on his own. The Carlen stories the staff told Ronnie and Linda and the love they showed made these most heartbreaking final days a little easier to bear. We were not aware of the incredible impact he made on everyone from administration, nurses, CNAs, maintenance, food personnel, other residents, just everyone, while a resident. It was so amazing to learn how many loved him.
Arrangements by Simpson Funeral Home & Crematory, 5160 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke, Virginia.