Something for everyone

Ferris E. Clouse, 89, died Friday, July 5, 2013, at home surrounded by his family. He was born Nov. 19, 1923, on the family farm at Pittsford Township outside of Hudson, Mich., to Ferris D. Clouse and Ada A. Stiverson Clouse. His early education was at the Lane Country School, middle school in Detroit, and high school in Hudson where he was captain of the football team and graduated in 1941. He went to college at Michigan State Normal College, which became Eastern Michigan University, and played offensive guard on the football team. He joined the Lenawee County Masonic Lodge after high school where his father was active.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, receiving special military training at Cameron College in Lawton, Okla. He traveled to Europe on the Queen Mary and spent the next five wartime years in England, France and Belgium. As a Staff Sgt., he served with the Headquarters Squadron, 8th Air Force Service Command in the European Theater of Operations, supervising and coordinating the duties of military personnel in the Air Inspectors Office, maintaining technical orders and handling all military correspondence. He made sure the technical orders were in place for the airplanes involved in D-Day. He was honorably discharged and returned to the U.S. on Feb. 1, 1946, with an amazing collection of the Stars and Stripes and Yank magazines commemorating the achievements of the “Greatest Generation.” He bought a home in Hudson for his mother with his mustering out pay.

Ferris worked in a factory in Hudson, operating an automatic screw machine which made parts for the automobile industry. In 1947 he returned to Eastern Michigan University. He was a member of the Kappa Phi Alpha fraternity and graduated in 1951 with a major in industrial arts and a minor in mathematics. His first teaching job was in St. Clair Shores, Mich., where he taught industrial arts and served as assistant football, basketball and track coach. He met Anna Marie Linehan, who taught English and PE at the same school, in 1952. They were married June 21, 1953, at Fairmount, N.D. They moved to Miles City in 1954 where Ferris was the Head of Shops and Maintenance at the Pine Hills School. In 1955 they moved to Missoula where he taught Industrial Arts for Missoula School District 1, and set up the first industrial arts program for special education students at Central School. He was also instrumental in giving Missoula girls the opportunity to take shop.

In 1969, he received a M.S. in education from the University of Montana. When Central School closed he taught at C.S. Porter, Lowell, Rattlesnake, Roosevelt and Washington schools. He retired in 1986 after a long career that had a substantial impact on many of Missoula’s youth who took wood shop spanning four decades from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Ferris and Anna Marie purchased a small farm on a dirt road called Russell Street where their eight children grew up, raising livestock and gardens. They started the Pink Grizzly business by building a pink building in the summer of 1970 where the foundation was dug by hand with the help of his children. The building has been used to sell fireworks, arts and crafts, fruit, vegetables, greenhouse plants and Christmas trees and wreaths. Ferris spent many years selling fireworks to help Missoula celebrate the Fourth of July. Countless former students always stopped by to tell Mr. Clouse how they were doing. The Clouse family always had plenty of healthy food at the table from their little farm in the middle of town. They supplemented his teacher’s salary with sales from their various entrepreneurial ventures. He was a fixture at the Western Montana Fair, judging the woodworking projects and supporting his children in 4-H and FFA. The Clouse family was the Western Montana “Fair Family” in 1981.

In retirement, Ferris enjoyed building things, remodeling the house and attending events of his children and grandchildren. In the summer you could see him nurturing the plants in the garden and tending to his favorite roses and peonies, and he was even willing to share the secret to growing sweet corn with others. He loved his Farmall Cub tractor which he used to cut weeds and plow gardens. Now that tractor is a fixture at the Pink Grizzly and you can almost always see a young boy or girl sitting on the seat moving the steering wheel back and forth.

Ferris and Anna Marie celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 21 and a party on June 22. He spent the last two weeks of his life at home under the excellent care of Missoula Hospice. He took a memorable trip outside in a wheel chair to see his raspberry bushes, flower beds, the Pink Grizzly greenhouse and the Pink Grizzly fireworks stand. It is fitting that a veteran would celebrate one last Fourth of July with a spectacular fireworks show by his grandsons. He passed away at 10:55 a.m. on July 5 surrounded by his family and under the great care of his Missoula Hospice nurse.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Ada A. Stiverson Clouse, Ferris D. Clouse and his one brother, Luther E. Clouse. He is survived by his wife, Anna Marie Linehan Clouse; four daughters and four sons and their families: Lynne Mickelson (Dennis) of Missoula, Sarris Marsh (Jeff) of Sheridan, Shannon Brown (Taylor) of Huntley, Shawn Clouse (Nancy) of Missoula, Daniel Clouse (Laurie) of Missoula, Brooke Trudel (Wayne) of Elko, Nev., Clint Clouse of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Shane Clouse (Kelly) of Lolo; plus 17 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

He was a life member of the University of Montana Alumni Association, National Industrial Arts Association, NEA, MEA and Phi Delta Kappa.

Donations can be made to the Ferris E. Clouse Memorial Fund at First Interstate Bank on Front Street in Missoula. The funds will be used to sponsor a 4-H Woodworking award at the Western Montana Fair, a scholarship for Hellgate High School students wishing to study industrial arts or to Missoula Hospice.

A rosary service was held on July 6 for family at Garden City Funeral Home. There will be a military honor guard service at the Western Montana Veterans Cemetery, 1911 Tower St., in Missoula on Aug. 30 at 2 p.m. Father John Wang will conduct the memorial service on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 3 p.m. at the Pink Grizzly, 1400 Wyoming St., with a reception and barbecue to allow for fellowship and time to celebrate Ferris’ life with his wife and their large extended family. Honorary pallbearers are his 17 grandchildren.

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