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11/14/2016 - Patrick 'Tom' Clifford
Funeral services for Patrick “Tom” Clifford, age 71, will be at 10:00 AM on Monday, November 14, 2016 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pine Ridge, SD with Father Christopher Johnson, S.J., and Charles McGaa officiating.
Cremation will follow services.
A one-night wake service will start at 3:00 PM on Sunday, November 13, 2016 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pine Ridge, SD.
Tom passed away on November 7, 2016 in Pine Ridge, SD. He was born in Pine Ridge, SD on March 1, 1945 to Joseph Lee Clifford Sr. and Thelma Mae Garcia. He grew up in Pine Ridge, SD and attended school at Holy Rosary Mission, graduating from PineRidgeHigh School in 1965. Tom then left the Reservation to attend Haskell Institute in Lawrence, KS, where he met the love of his life, Maxine Wise Clifford. They were married in San Francisco, CA on June 17, 1967 and were never apart after; they also renewed their vows with each other twice. Together, Tom and Maxine had two girls, Pamela Thomascina Clifford and Philimena Clifford.
Throughout their life together, they lived in many different places--Dallas, TX, Tulsa, OK, Kansas City, MO, Willard, UT, before moving back to Pine Ridge where they were living up until Tom made his journey home to be with his Father and Mother and the rest of his family that went before him.
Tom worked in many different areas. He was a very smart man who could do anything he put his mind to; he accomplished so much. He was a self contractor, mechanical foreman at IntermountainIndianSchool, he worked on the CrownCenter in Kansas City, MO, and he designed and built three resort bath houses in Kansas City, MO. He remodeled the Marsh Point Lodge in Willard, UT and also managed the two trailer parks there for the owner of Marsh Point Lodge. He owned his own trailers and also rented them out.
He was an Activist in the Native American Civil Rights movement in Kansas City, MO. Tom Clifford and Rosemary Clifford co-founded and initiated the first Parade for Native Americans in Kansas City, MO. They then met with the Mayor of Kansas City, and Native American Week was born. The first week in September is Native American recognition week; this is still a recognized holiday in Kansas City to this day.
Tom moved back to Pine Ridge, SD and was instrumental in bringing cell phone services to the reservation through Western Wireless. He also worked hard on getting up Wapa Credits. Bob Ecoffey and he had a radio show called the Oyate Hour on KILI. He worked with the North Ridge Boxing Club, helping the youth realize their potential to achieve whatever they wanted in life. He also was the supervisor on the Pine Ridge Football Field that still stands today. He accomplished so much and touched so many lives that everything cannot be fit on here; everyone probably knows or remembers something he has done or helped them with.
He was a devoted husband and father who loved his wife and children; he cherished each and every one of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He always said “No matter what I’ve done in this world, my children and grandchildren are my legacy; they are what I am proud of most because I live on in them.” He taught them to love everyone, to encourage people to want better for the Lakota People as a whole, to not be selfish, and to work hard.
Tom is survived by siblings Theresa Perkins of Rapid City, SD, Anita Ecoffey of Wounded Knee, SD, Joseph Buzz Clifford of Pine Ridge, SD, and Mary Ellen Wilson of #4 community; wife Maxine Clifford of Pine Ridge, SD; daughters Pamela Clifford of Pine Ridge, SD and Philimena Clifford of Manderson, SD; grandchildren Rodney James, Thomas Janis Sr., Coby Lee Janis, Charli Jo Maxine Janis, Kennedy Lorrain Janis, Amanda Bradley Clifford, Carmena Marie Clifford, Patrick Thomas Clifford II, Cheyenne Clifford, and Shawn Clifford; and great-grandchildren Marsha Lynn Talmasey Janis, Rodney James Thomas Janis Jr., Timothy Lee Garry Janis, Sariya Bear Runner, Cassius Janis, Aries Janis, Chayton Yankton, Pamela and Olivia Little Hawk, Gabriel and Breanna White Plume, and Azalea Janis.
Tom was preceded in death by parents Joseph Lee Clifford Sr. and Thelma (Garcia) Clifford; siblings Mark Clifford Sr., Clifton Clifford Sr., Darlene Clifford Waln, Gloria Pettigrew, Dorothy Lafferty, Philip Clifford & Philimena Clifford (twins), and Ester Clifford; grandparents John & Hattie Clifford; and great-grandparents Henry Clay Clifford and Maggie Hard Ground.
Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge, SD is in charge of arrangements for Patrick “Tom” Clifford.
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