John M. Clarkson Jr.

Retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 John M. Clarkson Jr, 82, of Fayetteville passed away on December 24, 2014.

He was the son of John Murmon Clarkson and Cora Moore Clarkson and the stepson of Lula Frances Clarkson; all who predeceased him. He was also predeceased by his sisters Cora Frances Sherman and Leona Harris. 

Mr. Clarkson attended Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) but, he left college in 1951 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to provide assistance to his family when his father passed away.  He served for 2 years in Korea and in 1953, returned home to  marry  the former Alice Magdalene Evans .

He was a Special Agent in the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations and  later served in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division; to include service as a Chief Warrant Officer in the 82nd Airborne Division in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.  He retired from the U.S. military in 1971; having served a combined total of twenty years in the U.S. Air Force and U. S. Army.  He completed his undergraduate education by earning a bachelor’s degree from the Municipal University of Omaha (now the University of Nebraska-Omaha) while on active duty. 

His awards include 2 Bronze Stars, the Korean, United Nations and Vietnam Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Parachute Badge. 

After military service, Mr. Clarkson was a vocational education instructor at J.S. Spivey Junior High School in Fayetteville.  He earned a master’s degree from NC State University and completed substantial work toward a doctorate at the same institution.  

Mr. Clarkson subsequently served as a Special Agent with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) in Washington, D.C.; retiring in 1993 from civilian federal government service as a member of the Senior Executive Service and Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations in VA’s Central Office.

He was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and he held the senior leadership position of “Faithful Navigator” with Good Shepherd Council 8857  Father Joe Bauman Assembly #2238.  He was also a lifetime member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. having been initiated at Virginia State,  in December 1950.

 Mr. Clarkson is survived by his wife of over 60 years, the former Alice Magdalene Evans; his children, John M. Clarkson, III and wife Karalyn of Annapolis, MD; Edwina F. Clarkson of Fayetteville; Anne M. Clarkson and her partner, Samantha Ruskin of Columbia, SC; Michael G. Clarkson of Reston, VA; and Karen C. Clarkson of Hope Mills.  He is also survived by eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.  

Our husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle rightly prided himself on his devotion to his family and his service to his country. He is sorely missed.

A funeral mass will be held at 12 noon on Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Hope Mills, with the Rev. Thomas J. Gaul officiating. Interment with full military honors will follow at Cross Creek Cemetery Section #2.  Visitation will be from 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at the funeral home with a Rosary at 7:30pm.

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