Clydene Oliver’s life well lived began May 7, 1938. She was the second child of Woodson and Willora Young Terrell. She grew up with her two brothers, Billy Earl and Jerry and her sister, Judy on a farm in Lockney, TX.
There is no visitation. Funeral Service will be Tuesday, February 28, at 10:00 am at First Baptist Church in San Saba. Interment will be at Harmony Ridge Cemetery.
Clydene loved sports and made the varsity basketball team her freshman year in Lockney. Her family moved to Plainview, TX after Billy Earl’s tragic death. She graduated from Plainview High School with academic honors and went to West Texas State University where she completed her business and education degrees.
After graduating from college, Clydene moved to Dallas where her impressive shorthand skills won her a position at Sun Oil. She commented that her teacher friends got to travel and have fun during their summers off, so she began her teaching career in Irving, TX.
It was during one of these summer breaks that Clydene was visiting her parents who had moved to Lampasas, when she met Gordon Lee Oliver. After a short courtship, she and Gordon Lee married on February 16, 1963. They lived in Lampasas after the wedding, and Clydene drove to Evant to teach school until they became parents to Shawn, Marcie and Mark.
In 1970, Clydene and Gordon Lee purchased Star Camp in Bend. Clydene raised her children and help run the fishing camp. She often said she was thankful they were in the middle of nowhere, with very little TV reception, because Shawn, Marcie and Mark learned to play with each other and used their imaginations. It was during this time in Bend, that Clydene and Gordon Lee started harvesting pecans with two cane poles and a bucket.
In the late 1970s, Gordon Lee and Clydene acquired property on the San Saba River near Gordon Lee’s childhood home. To say they provided a happy home and wonderful childhood for Shawn, Marcie and Mark is an understatement. It’s a good thing Clydene loved sports, because she got to watch a lot of games. Always supportive of her children and grandchildren, she rarely missed a game or event in which they were involved.
Clydene started working in the superintendent’s office in San Saba, until the high school business teacher position became available. Clydene was a skilled and effective teacher where her kind spirit and warm compassion motivated her students to excel. Many past students have said that Mrs. Oliver was their favorite teacher. They admired her classic and professional dress, usually in high heels. Her family has found letters from students who became successful and credited their success to the things Clydene had taught them.
In 1984, Clydene and Gordon Lee opened Oliver Pecan Company. Through honesty and hard work, along with smart business decisions, they built a successful company and gained respect in the pecan industry. All three of their children and a grandson continue to operate the company that was started by Clydene and Gordon Lee. A legacy, for sure.
Clydene retired from teaching and did the accounting (and whatever else needed to be done) at Oliver Pecan Company. She remained at the helm, until she became ill with Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t able to take Clydene’s sweet, kind disposition. She loved Jesus and fleshed Him out to all who met her throughout her life.
Clydene is preceded in death by her parents, Woodson and Willora Terrell; her brothers, Billy Earl and Jerry Terrell; and her husband, Gordon Lee Oliver.
Clydene is survived by her son and his wife, Shawn and Nancy Oliver; daughter and her husband, Marcie and Reagan Maxcey; son and his wife, Mark and Kristen Oliver; grandchildren: Hayden, and wife, Brittany Oliver, Haylee Oliver, Holt Oliver, Alexa and husband, Stephen Austermann, Mckenna Maxcey, Linzey Maxcey, Lane and wife, Kriss Oliver, Landry Oliver, and Kellan Oliver; great granddaughter, Steeley Austermann and three more great-grandchildren on the way. She is also survived by her loving sister, Judy and her husband, Robert Lee Daniel.