Sidney Clinkscales

Sidney Lee Clinkscales

Sidney Lee Clinkscales, 86, died peacefully on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at Westminster-Canterbury, Virginia Beach, after an illness of several weeks. The body was cremated. Born in Shelby County, Alabama, on October 24, 1921, he spent his early childhood in Birmingham and in farming areas nearby. In 1934 his family moved to Norfolk, where he attended Blair Jr. High and graduated from Maury High School. During his teens he worked after school at his uncle’s drug store on Colley Avenue, where he took advantage of the how-to columns in newsstand copies of Better Homes and Gardens magazine to nurture his lifelong interest in construction and things mechanical. He and Mildred Millie Harrell of Norfolk married in 1945. After his service in the U.S. Army he worked in shipbuilding and steel fabrication, while renovating several rooms of their first house, building a small beach house at Lynnhaven, and focusing love and attention on his wife, his daughter Joyce and his son Lee. Possessed of a strong and sustaining faith, he maintained an active commitment to the church, at First Baptist, Norfolk, later at Royster Memorial Presbyterian, and more recently as a member of Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal. In 1962 he and two partners founded Chesapeake Steel, Inc., now Chesapeake Bay Steel, where he drew on his years as a steel worker and his correspondence courses in engineering to develop and manage the company until his eventual retirement. His leisure interests were gardening, chess, traveling, and NFL football. He and Millie enjoyed many activities at the Norfolk Botanical Garden as well as garden visits and trips sponsored by the American Horticultural Society. They also participated in Elderhostel programs throughout the country.

They moved to Virginia Beach in 1987 and became residents of Westminster Canterbury in 2002, where Sid continued to live after Millie’s death in 2004. Survivors include his daughter Joyce Clinkscales and her husband Don Eggert of Avondale Estates, Georgia, his son Lee of Virginia Beach, his sister-and-brother-in-law Pauline and Fred Story of Virginia Beach, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. The family wishes to express deep appreciation to the staff of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay for the caring and supportive environment they have provided.

In joyous celebration of Sid’s life, a memorial service will be held at Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, September 25, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the building fund of Christ and St. Luke’s Church, 560 West Olney Road, Norfolk, VA 23507-2135. Altmeyer Funeral Home Virginia Beach is handling arrangements.