Clifford H. Carberry

1925 – 2015

WEST PARIS — Clifford H. Carberry, 89, died peacefully of natural causes on Sunday, May 17, in West Paris with his family by his side.

He was born in his grandparents’ home on Nov. 2, 1925, in a section of Gorham, N.H., called Jimtown, which is now known as Moose Brook State Park. He was the son of E. Henry and Mary Berry Carberry.

His early years were spent roaming the woods around his grandparents’ house, along with his “kid uncle,” George “Sonny” Berry, who was born four days after him. His father was a woodsman for the Brown Paper Co. in Gorham, and he spent many hours teaching his son about the plants and animals in the woods, instilling his lifelong love of animals and the outdoors.

In his teenage years, he worked in various summer jobs. When he was 15 years old, he worked on the Portland-Montreal Pipeline. A photograph of him working on the pipeline appeared in an issue of Life Magazine in 1941. When he was 16 years old, he worked for the railroad, and when he was 17, he worked as a shipfitter helper at Bath Iron Works Corporation in Bath.

He attended Edward Little High School in Auburn, where he played left field in baseball, center in basketball and left tackle in football. He left during his senior year to serve in the Army Air Corp from 1943 to 1945. There, he found his lifelong love of aviation. He entered as a private and left as an S/Sgt. AAF gunnery instructor. He was in combat over 11 European countries and was a member of a heavy bombardment group cited by the War Department for outstanding performance of duty.

When his enlistment ended, he returned home and finished his high school education, graduating from Edward Little High School in 1946. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1946 and married Doris Alphonse of Berlin, N.H., in 1948. Together, they had five children.

He pursued his love of aviation, applying for training in anything that had fixed wings. His assignments took him to Lakehurst, N.J., Norfolk, Va., Pensacola, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada; Hutchinson, Kansas; Memphis, Tenn., Corpus Christi, Texas and ultimately to Brunswick, where he was in charge of 13 aviation crews and 12 planes. During his military career, he flew in the following aircraft: B-24 Liberator, B-17, B-25, B-26, A-26, PBY Catalina, P2V-2, P2V-3, P2V-4, P2V-5, P2V-6 and P-3 Orion. He visited 31 foreign countries and 30 states, always exploring the places where he traveled. He retired from the Navy as an E-7 chief petty officer in 1967.

Following his retirement, he worked as a tractor-trailer driver for Merrill Transport Co. and in the civil service at Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Cliff was a World War II United States Army Air Corps veteran (United States Air Force) and a self-described “adventurer, outdoorsman and hobo at heart.” He will be missed — rest in peace, Dad.

Cliff is predeceased by his sister, Elizabeth Carberry (1976); brothers, James Carberry (1993) and Harold Carberry (2000); and daughter, Jeannine Carberry Cohen (1999).

He is survived by sister, Patricia Valliere of Bedford, N.H.; son, Gary Carberry of Lisbon Falls; daughters, Barbara LaChance of Lisbon Falls, Marie Carr (Richard Turgeon) of Somersworth, N.H., and Karen Carberry Warhola (James) of Bangor; four grandchildren, Chad A. LaChance, M.D., Brian LaChance, Michelle Carr and Tiffany Carr; and three great-grandchildren, Ethan and Caroline LaChance and Eva Carr.

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