Chaplain (Colonel) Clyde Major Aiken, U.S. Army, retired, passed away on May 3, 2023, at the age of 89 years with family at his side at his residence in Waco, Texas.
Clyde was born on July 25, 1933, in Liberty, South Carolina, son of the late Major Duffie Aiken and Eva Elizabeth (Smith) Aiken. Clyde graduated from Liberty High School and then studied at Wofford College. Upon return home from school, he met and fell in love with his future wife, Mary Ann Stegall (“Ann”) of Easley, South Carolina. After he graduated, they married in Easley on November 25, 1955, thus beginning a union that would last almost 68 years and ended only upon his death. With Ann at his side, Clyde entered the U.S. Army as an Armor Officer and served from 1955 to 1957. Upon discharge, he entered Emory University’s Chandler School of Theology where he completed his Master of Divinity degree. Then, Clyde began a second period of military service in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, extending from 1962 until his retirement in 1986. He served in Germany, Korea, Dominican Republic, and Vietnam, as well as numerous stateside assignments. His main assignments included Division Chaplain for the 82nd Airborne Division—an assignment he was particularly proud of. His numerous decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and the Senior Parachutist Badge. After 27 years of service and retirement from the Army, Clyde and Ann settled in Columbia, South Carolina where Clyde served two communities as a Methodist Minister for several more years before permanent retirement. He then pursued his hobby as a skilled woodworker and enjoyed traveling, camping, gardening, reading, and visiting his daughter and granddaughter with Ann.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife Ann, daughter Pamela Diane (Aiken) Berman, and granddaughter Rachel Ann (Berman) (Seth) Strickland, all from Harker Heights, Texas, as well as a niece and nephew, Julie (Andrews) Murray and Robert Aiken Andrews from South Carolina.
Clyde was predeceased by his parents, his sister Ellen Elizabeth (Aiken) Andrews, and her husband William Robert Andrews.
A service will be held on Sunday, May 7, 2023, at 2 PM at the Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Killeen, Texas. The interment will follow on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 10 AM at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas with full Military Honors.
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