DUBLIN, Clifton Earl

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Monday, March 21, 2011 Clifton Earl Dublin 5/8/1919 - 3/17/2011 Clifton Earl Dublin (Earl) died of natural causes at the age of 91 on the afternoon of March 17, 2011, at St. John's Sisters of Mercy hospital in Springfield, Mo. At the time of his passing, Earl resided at the Butterfield assisted living facility in Bolivar, Mo. Earl was born the sixth of seven children to Richard and Rachael Dublin on May 8, 1919, in Hazel, Ky. Raised in and around the Hazel/Mayfield, Kentucky area, Earl was born into a challenging childhood situation that caused him at very early age to assume the role of family provider. This experience would serve to mold his character into the stable and unwavering provider later he became for his own family. On May 5, 1945, in Marietta, Ga., where he was working in an airline manufacturing plant, Earl married his life partner Treva Dell Cole or "Toots" and he affectionately called her. Shortly after marriage, they relocated back to Kentucky where Earl worked in a clay mining extraction operation. After sons Gerald and Mike were born in Kentucky, health issues forced Earl to relocate his family to Arizona in 1956. There he worked in and around the Phoenix, Ariz., area for many years as a heavy equipment road construction operator. In 1972, after third son Tim had been born, Earl moved his family to central Arizona where he owned and operated an excavation company and became involved in purchasing and rehabilitating investment real estate properties. In 2007, Earl and Treva moved to Bolivar, Mo., to be nearer family. In early 2011, they both entered the Buttercup Assisted Living Facility in Bolivar where Earl resided at the time of his death. Throughout Earl's life, he was defined by his dedication to God and his passion for serving the Church. For many years, he served as a Deacon and Elder in the Southern Baptist Church and later the Humboldt Bible Church which he was instrumental in establishing. Although by nature a reserved and private person, Earl rarely missed an opportunity to approach strangers and share his faith with them - more often than not by giving them one of his cherished "4 Spiritual Laws" pamphlets, which he carried with him everywhere he went. The extent of his witness for Jesus Christ will never be fully known, but it is safe to say that hundreds came to know the Lord as a result of his service to God and his willingness to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Earl is survived by his wife Treva Dublin; sons, Gerald Dublin (wife Susan), Mike Dublin (wife Robin) and Tim Dublin (wife Merritt); grandchildren, Brian Dublin, Jason Dublin, Shannon Mallory, Shane Dublin, Lacey Dublin and Chris Hoover; great-grandchildren Raina Mallory, Adian Mallory, Aaron Isaac Mallory, Moriah Mallory, Katherine Ann Dublin, Jaxson Dublin, Kambryn Dublin, Hunter Dublin, Walker Dublin, Eden Hoover and Colette Hoover. Earl is preceded in death by his parents Richard and Rachael Dublin and siblings, Hallie Cochran, Addie Easley, John Dublin, Coy Dublin, Hattie Marie Dublin and Kirksey Dublin. A memorial service was at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2011, which honored Earl's life and celebrated his entry into heaven. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to the First Baptist Church of Bolivar. Information provided by survivors.