Clifton W. Long

The Shreveport Times, July 4, 2007

Clifton Wright Long
21 Jun 2007 , Amarillo, Texas

Clifton Wright Long of Amarillo, TX, died June 21, 2007 in Amarillo after a lengthy illness.

Born April 24, 1919 in Texline, TX, he grew up and lived most of his life in Texas and Oklahoma.  He moved to Amarillo from Shreveport, LA in 2003 during his retirement to live near his son, granddaughter and brother.

Mr. Long graduated from Pioneer High School, near Chickasha, OK, in 1938.  He met Hulane Iona Williams in Chickasha, where they were married in the parlor of the First Baptist Church on January 21, 1940.

Mr. Long entered the retail business with S.H. Kress Company in Chickasha in 1939 and then joined TG&Y Stores in 1941.  He remained with TG&Y managing variety stores in Clinton, Cordell and Norman, OK until 1952, when he left to open a partnership in a variety store in Vernon, TX.  In 1954 Mr. Long entered the life insurance business as an agent and district manager in Wichita Falls, TX for the American National Life Insurance Company.  He joined Century Life Insurance Company in 1957 and moved his family to Lawton, OK, where he was district manager.  In 1962 he moved to the Century Life home office in Fort Worth, TX to become vice president and agency director.  In 1969 he joined the World Service Life Insurance Company in Fort Worth as vice president.  He moved to Shreveport, LA in 1975 where he worked for ten years as president, director, vice chairman and later chairman of the board for the Savings Life Insurance Company of Louisiana, and as director and vice president of AMI, Inc. of Shreveport.  During his time with Savings Life and AMI, he was instrumental in the corporate management of several insurance holding companies and subsidiaries.  In 1985 he co-founded Credit Life Investment Company in Shreveport, a holding company which purchased all of the life insurance companies previously owned by AMI.  By the time he retired in 2000, Cliff Long was serving as president, director or chairman of the board for nine holding and insurance companies in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.

Mr. Long endured personal and family hardships early in life when his father left the home, leaving his mother to raise two young boys during the depression years.  His mother and grandparents were devout Southern Baptists who struggled to hold the rest of the family together when there were few jobs and all they had was a strong faith in their Lord Jesus Christ.  The experience made him strong and determined to succeed, as evidenced by his climb to the top of the insurance corporate world without ever having attended college.  He also resolved to never let his family live in poverty as he once had.  He and Mrs. Long raised three children, and later cared for his mother in her advanced years.  Their children grew up enjoying the wisdom, guidance and love of their father, something he never had as a child.  After they were grown he continued to bless their lives, as well as the lives of his step-son, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mrs. Long died in Shreveport in March 1985 after 44 years of marriage.  Mr. Long married Ellen Eaves in November 1986.  Their marriage lasted until her death in 1994.  Mr. Long is survived by two sons, Donald K. Long, of Amarillo, and Jon S. Long and wife, Laveta, of Lawton, OK; daughter, Jane E. Aldrin of Midland, TX; step-son, Thomas C. Eaves and wife Celeste, of Houston, TX; a brother, George S. Long of Amarillo; six grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren.

The memorial service will be held at the Boxwell Brothers Funeral Home in Amarillo.  Memorial contributions may be made to the VistaCare Hospice, 7116 I-40 West, Building C, Suite B, Amarillo, TX 79106.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=Clifton-Wright-Long&pid=90155432