Del Clabaugh

Delmont Amrine Clabaugh was born on November 4, 1919 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the youngest of five children born to Lena Amrine and David Anthony Clabaugh. Del was raised in western Minnesota and basically grew up as an only child. His next oldest sibling, (brother Clarence, born 1904) was 15 years older. He had three sisters, Veda (1899), Neva (1901) and Blanche (1902). Del recalled moving multiple times while growing up following his father’s many business ventures. His favorite and most memorable business was a movie theater and he often talked of running the projectors for his father as a teenager. After graduating from high school, Del followed in the career path of his brother and went to aviation school. After school, he went to Western Montana to work for Johnson Flying Service flying supply planes and spotting for the U.S. Forestry Service. In July 1940 Del was co-piloting a small plane that crashed in the mountains along the Montana Idaho border, killing the pilot. With significant injuries, Del lay for three days until he was found and carried 20 miles by rescuers to the nearest airstrip. He recovered from his injuries and in the Fall of 1940 Del joined the Army Air Force, stationed in Alaska as a flight engineer and top gunner in B17s. World War II started a year later and the fleet of B17s was sent to Europe. Del began flying B24 Liberators in Alaska with missions against the Japanese over the Aleutian Islands until the Army transferred him to California until the end of the war in 1945. Immediately after the war Del went to work for the Civil Aviation Administration doing airport construction. While visiting his older sister Blanche who owned the local theater in Milnor, North Dakota, Del met the love of his life, a manicurist named Alta Halvorson. They dated for six weeks before Del left for his next assignment with the C.A.A. in Montana. It wasn’t long before Del realized he could not live without her, so he called her and proposed then bought and mailed Alta an engagement ring. Alta took the train west to meet him. They were married on December 21, 1946 in Superior, Montana. They spent their first years together traveling the country, worksite to worksite, until 1950 when they bought their first home in Evansville, Indiana. In 1952, Del’s government job became based out of Southern California. Alta took a job at Rohr Aircraft Co. in San Diego. They were living in San Diego when they began their family with Gini in 1955. When David was in born in 1958, Del was working out of Los Angeles. They bought a home in San Fernando and moved to Santa Ana in 1962. Del worked for the F.A.A. in San Pedro and after the kids were in school, Alta worked part-time in the nearby high school cafeteria. In 1967 they opened a donut shop and the family soon moved to Mission Viejo, California. Del took a transfer with the F.A.A. to the Air Traffic Control Center in Auburn in 1969 and the family moved to Federal Way until he retired in 1976. Soon after he and Alta shared two new hobbies, golf and bridge. Soon after Del retired they decided to build their own home and move to Tacoma. Alta retired in 1983 and they bought an RV. They spent more than a decade of their retirement traveling across the country. They also traveled to England, Italy and the Holy Land (twice). Del enjoyed the outdoors, camping, fishing, gardening, music and playing cards. More than anything he loved having all of his family together. Declining health concerns prompted them to move from the home they loved. In July 2011, they came to live with their daughter Gini and son-in-law Chuck. Alta died of cancer in October 2011. Del and Alta were married for 64 years and had two children: daughter, Gini Linnea Perry (Charles), of Gig Harbor, Washington and son, David Anthony Clabaugh (Mary Ann) of Tacoma, Washington. They had five grandchildren: Stephanie Clabaugh (29), Linnea Perry (27), Matthew Clabaugh (26), Clint Perry (24) and Michael Clabaugh (22).