Services for Clair will take place on Saturday, March 4 at 11:00 A.M. at Fellowship Baptist Church in Marshalltown with Pastor Ed Hannahs officiating. A visitation will take place prior to the service, beginning at 9:30 A.M. He will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery with military honors provided by sailors from the Navy funeral honors office at NOSC Reserve Center Des Moines and the combined VFW/American Legion of the surrounding area. Memorials may be directed to the family for designation to the Iowa River Hospice and Gideon International. Mitchell Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of Clair and his family. For online condolences or questions, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. Ph. 641-844-1234.

Clair Ellsworth Long was born on March 21, 1928, in Albion, Iowa, in his aunt’s house. He was the son of William Long Sr. and Thelma (Ruch) Long. He graduated high school in 1945 and went on to serve his country honorably in the United States Navy from March 26, 1946 to January 28, 1948, primarily in Tsingtao, China.

Clair met his special sweetheart, Helen Ludlow, at a sledding party at Helen’s cousin’s farm. After his two years in China, he brought silk back for Helen to make her own wedding dress. On January 12, 1949, less than a year after his discharge, they were united in marriage at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Marshalltown.

They moved to the home farm in 1951, where they raised crops, cattle and their two daughters, Linda and Lorraine. He proudly operated a Grade A dairy farm for over 30 years. Clair was also a seed corn dealer, served on the Marshall County Farm Bureau, was a Timber Creek Township Trustee, a member of the American Legion and the Gideons and was a founding member of the Marshalltown Farmer’s Market. He also served on the church board at The Church of the Nazarene and had attended Fellowship Baptist Church for the last 20 years. In the 1960s, he began to sell sweet corn, which continues to this day. All the while, he was cultivating relationships that connected him deeply to this community.

Clair’s commitment to leaving things better for the next generation drove him to be an early adopter of land stewardship techniques that have helped maintain the integrity of the current generation’s soil and water. He was a firm believer in the Constitutional founding of this nation and the ideals it upholds. Highlights of his later years included going to Washington D.C. on the Honor Flight, drinking coffee with his buddies, watching his grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up and witnessing his grandson, Ethan, take over the farm.

Clair leaves a legacy of integrity, generosity and a devotion to God, family, land and community that he has passed on to the next generation. He will be deeply missed by all those who loved him.

Left to cherish his memory is his beloved wife of 74 years, Helen; his daughters: Linda (David) Stonewall, of Gilman, and Lorraine (Ron) Crow, of Marshalltown; his grandchildren: Kelsy (Mario) Orelus, Kendra (Ryan) Giffin, Ethan (Maria) Crow and Jacklin Stonewall; great grandchildren: Darick, Anaya, Zayla, Mercy, Emilia and Colby; his brothers: William (Virginia) Long Jr. and Darwin Long and sister-in-law, Patricia Long, as well as several nieces and nephews.

In eternal life, Clair is reunited with his infant son Mark; two infant great grandchildren, Claire and Noah; his parents, his brother Kenneth Long and his sister-in-law Angie Long.