William Claiborne Clary III

William Claiborne
Clary, III, 84, of Franklin,
N.C., passed away on Sun-
day, Aug. 24, 2025. He was
born Jan. 17, 1941, in Au-
gusta, Ga., to the late
William and Frankalene
Clary, Jr.
Bill grew up in Toccoa,
Ga., and earned his bache-
lor of business administra-
tion from the University of
Georgia (UGA) in Athens
and an MBA from the Uni-
versity of Arkansas. Bill
was commissioned with
the U.S. Air Force through
ROTC at UGA; he retired
from the Air Force as a Lt.
Col. in 1987. He worked
and retired as a banker in
Toccoa, Ga., and Roswell,
Ga. After retirement, he
took his passion for fly
fishing into another ca-
reer as a fly-fishing guide
out of Highlands and
Franklin, N.C.
Bill loved his grandchil-
dren, family, and friends.
His passion for the out-
doors, traveling, and
sports led him on many
adventures, allowing him
to meet various interest-
ing people along the way.
Bill was preceded in
death by his two wonder-
ful wives: Linda Greene
Clary and Sarah Wright
Clary. He is survived by
his son, Christopher W.
Clary (Cheryl), of Daven-
port, Fla.; two daughters,
Amy Putnam (Larry), of
Sylva, N.C. and Catherine
Clary-Brown (Chris), of
Stafford, Va.; his four
grandchildren, Kaitlyn
Putnam of Sylva, N.C.,
Kari Buchanan (Trenten),
of Sylva, N.C., Olivia
Clary, of Martin, Tenn.,
and Zachary Clary, of
Stafford, Va., and his
adopted family Mike and
Debi Manville, of Leeds,
Ala.; and many family and
friends.
A celebration of life ser-
vice will be held Saturday,
Oct. 4, 2025, at 11 a.m. in
the Chapel of Bryant-
Grant Funeral Home with
Rev. Sam Steele officiat-
ing. The family will re-
ceive friends from 10-11
a.m. prior to the service at
the funeral home. Burial
will follow at Highlands
Memorial Park.
Online condolences
may be made at
www.bryantgrantfuneral-
home.com.
Bryant-Grant Funeral
Home & Crematory is hon-
ored to serve the Clary
family.