Mr. Clayton Ellis Gascoigne's Obituary
Hendersonville, TN – Clayton Ellis Gascoigne
Born April 22, 1926 died Sunday, October 15, 2017 at home. He was born in Macedon, N.Y. to the late Earl and Frances Gascoigne. He was also preceded in death by his beloved wife of 68 years, Janet Grace Bareford Gascoigne; two brothers, Robert Earl and Donald Everett Gascoigne; two sisters, Mary Elizabeth Gascoigne Valentine and Ruth Carol Gascoigne Neal; and son-in-law, Robert Alan Shelton.
Funeral services will be held at the Hendersonville First United Methodist Church on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 11 am with Rev. Randy Goodman officiating.
Visitation will be held at the Spring Hill Funeral Home on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 from 4 pm until 8 pm with burial at the Highland Memorial Gardens in Jackson, TN on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 2 PM.
Mr. Gascoigne graduated from Cornell University in 1949 with a B.S. degree in Agriculture with an emphasis on Food Technology. He was a Navy veteran and served in World War II in the South Pacific, earning the Victory Medal, American Theatre Medal, Asiatic Pacific Medal, and the Unit Commendation. He met his wife, Janet Bareford, on a trip back to Cornell while at Sampson Naval Training Base. When he was stationed in Washington D.C. awaiting further orders, he would visit her at her hometown in Plainfield, N.J. They were married within weeks of his discharge in 1946.
Upon graduation, he worked for Seabrook Farms in N.J. He continued his 45-year career in the Frozen Food Industry in 1963 with a move to Jackson, Tenn. to work for United Foods, Inc. (currently Pictsweet Foods) of Bells, Tenn. During his tenure in the Frozen Food Industry, Mr. Gascoigne represented the United States at several International Food Symposiums. He also represented the Frozen Food Industry in Congress, working tirelessly to institute Nutritional Labeling.
He is survived by two sisters, Jane (Leon) Rasbeck and Janet Darling of Wolcott, N.Y.; four daughters – Susan (Benjamin) Boyer of Evansville, Ind., Nancy Shelton of Chickamauga, Ga., Janet (John) Voyles of Evansville, Ind., and Harriett (Michael) Hurdle of Hendersonville, Tenn.; five grandchildren – Ronald Shelton, Susan (Michael) Grissom, Emily (Scott) Rettig and Clayton and Christopher Hurdle; four great-grandchildren – Benjamin and Julianna Rettig and Michael and Christopher James Grissom.
Mr. Gascoigne was a member of the Hendersonville First United Methodist Church and the Companions Sunday school class. He was a member of both the Monday and Wednesday Senior bowling leagues at Hendersonville Strike and Spare. Along with bowling, his many interests included bird watching and photography, gardening, playing bridge and traveling.
Memorials may be sent to his favorite charities -- Nashville Rescue Mission, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the March of Dimes – or a charity of your choice.
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