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Clarence F. 'Clancy' Gansberg Yuma, AZ QCWA # 26348 Chapter 188 |
Dr. Clarence F. "Clancy" Gansberg, DVM, died of malignant mesothelioma at home in Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 5, 2011. He was 88 years old.Dr. Gansberg was born Jan. 24, 1923, in Webster, S.D., and grew up in Stanwood, Wash.
He worked as a sheet metal fitter in the shipyards before joining the Army Air Corps during World War II. As a pilot in the war, he flew the Boeing B29 Superfortress bomber, the largest airplane of its time. He survived 30 missions over Japan and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf clusters, two rows of Asiatic-Pacific ribbons, and The Presidential Unit Citation. He was a first lieutenant and was in line for a commission to captain at Bomber Command Flight Control when the A-Bomb was dropped and the war ended.After the war, he studied to become a doctor of veterinary medicine at Washington State University. He then moved to Klamath Falls, Ore., where he lived and practiced veterinary medicine for 30 years.
He married Marjorie A. Petty, had three boys, James, Ronald, and Jeffrey, and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He was an active member of the Elks, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Masonic Shriners.After retiring in 1981, he traveled in the summer and wintered in Yuma.After learning of a World War II B17 bomber that crashed into the Gila Mountains during training, he climbed to the crash site many times and spearheaded an effort to construct a monument to the crew.In Yuma, he met his second wife, A. Lorene "Loree" Wirt, and continued associations with the Elks, Shriners, Moose, American Legion, and V.F.W. Annually, he volunteered with the Arizona Game and Fish as veterinarian during captures of desert big horn sheep and Sonoran pronghorn. In his spare time, he enjoyed dancing and forming many lasting friendships.
Dr. Gansberg is survived by his wife Loree Wirt, two sisters Lorraine Watson and Rosalie Whitney, three sons, and seven grandchildren.Memorials are being planned for sometime in the coming year.
Name:Dr Clarence Frederick Gansberg
Birth Date:24 Jan 1923
Birth Place:Webster, Day County, South Dakota, United States of America
Death Date:5 Dec 2011
Death Place:Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona, United States of America Cemetery:Willamette National Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place:Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, United States of America