Clarence James Papetti, age 90, went to be with the Lord on May 9, 2011.  He will be greatly missed by his wife of 57 years, Barbara, and by his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.  Clarence was a resident of Clermont since 1966 and led an active life until recently.  Clarence loved woodworking and cabinetmaking, working in his yard, boating and sailing on the lake, and working on his cars including his 1931 Model A Ford.  His children and grandchildren learned much from helping him in his workshop and from the "country estate" living that he provided for them.  He always encouraged his children to learn, not only at school but in all of their activities and hobbies.  He took great delight in visiting with friends and relatives and traveling.  Quietly proud of his Italian heritage, one of the highlights of his life was his trip to Italy in 2008 to visit relatives and his father' birthplace and to tour the country.  He cherished all of his many friends in Clermont and elsewhere and his extended family, greatly enjoying and appreciating their visits with him over the years.



Clarence was born in Canastota, New York, in 1920, the son of Alfredo Lorenzo Papetti and Josephine Cerio Papetti and the brother of his older sister Louise, who preceded him in death.  His father died when Clarence was very young and his mother remarried. Clarence grew very close to his stepfather, Joseph Santoro.  Clarence grew up in Cortland, New York and had many fond memories and stories of his life there and in the surrounding countryside with neighborhood friends and his many relatives in Cortland and Canastota.  He graduated from Cortland High School in 1938 and went on to study at the Lincoln Aeronautical Institute in Nebraska where he became a Civil Aeronautics Administration licensed aircraft structure and engine mechanic.  He worked first in Texas as a Crew Chief on PT-19 A training planes and then as an instructor of aircraft mechanics and related subjects for the U.S. Navy at the Naval Air Technical Training Command in Jacksonville, Florida.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Navy despite being exempt from the draft due to his job and volunteered for a special detached unit of TBM/F torpedo bombers.  Clarence very rarely spoke with his family about any direct combat experience but told many memorable stories of his time in the Navy while in California, Hawaii, the South Pacific, Australia, and in New Guinea, involving his crewmates and local people he met.  After the war, he was discharged from the Navy and returned to his pre-war civil service job with the Navy in Jacksonville, Florida and Memphis, Tennessee.  A leave of absence allowed him to continue his education, receiving a Bachelor' degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and a Master' degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee in Memphis.  While in Memphis, he met Barbara Wright in a college class and they were married in 1953.  He continued his graduate studies at Cornell University. After returning to work, his career with the Navy then led him to move his growing family to Jacksonville, Florida; Huntington L.I., New York; and finally to Clermont, Florida.  In the 1970s, he became an Education Specialist with the Navy' newly formed Training Analysis and Evaluation Group (TAEG) in Orlando, Florida where he was part of a team that developed, implemented, and evaluated technical training systems.  He greatly enjoyed this work for it allowed him to apply his education to the research aspects of his job.  He retired in 1980 after 40 years of dedicated service to the United States Navy.  After his retirement, for the next 30 years he kept very busy with his house, property, hobbies, history reading, travel, writing, and spending time with his extended family.  He maintained a strong interest in current affairs and wrote many commentaries for the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper for which he was awarded its annual recognition a number of times.  He especially enjoyed sharing stories and jokes with friends over morning coffee at McDonalds.  He was a long-time member of the Heart of Florida Model A Club and served for a number of years on the board of Boy Scout Troop 3 in Clermont.  As patriotic and proud of his war-time military service and his lifetime of civil service as he was, he chose rather to define himself by his family and his love for them. Clarence is survived by his wife, Barbara Papetti, his four children and their spouses, Rosemary Leonard (Tim) of Lincolnton, North Carolina, Thomas Papetti (Julie) of Huntsville, Alabama, Clare Gentry (Dave) of Maitland, Florida, and Lawrence Papetti (Margaret) of Lilburn, Georgia, nine grandchildren, Matthew Leonard, Katie Crawford, Eric Papetti, Christopher Papetti, Alexandra Willis, Katherine Gentry, Mary Papetti, Regina Papetti, and Noelle Gentry, six great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.



Visitation will be at Becker Funeral Home, Clermont, Florida on Saturday, May 14 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.  The funeral service will be held at Becker Funeral Home Chapel at 4:00 pm Sunday, May 15.  Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery, Clermont, immediately following the service.  Memorial gifts can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org); Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 720 12th St., Clermont, FL 34711; or South Lake Presbyterian Church, 131 Chestnut St., Clermont 34711.  Arrangements are being provided by Becker Funeral Home, 806 West Minneola Avenue, Clermont, Florida 34712, 352-394-7121, www.beckerfamilyfuneral.com.