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Captain William G. Clautice, USN (Ret.), passed away on June 14, 2020, at 83 years of age. After 12 years with Parkinson’s Disease, Bill was on his dock when he lost his balance and fell in the canal. He passed away due to complications from a near drowning. He was preceded in death by his parents Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. J.W. Clautice and his sister Elise Polek. Bill was born April 4, 1937 in Baltimore, MD. He graduated from Loyola High School in 1955 and was a proud alumnus of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1959. He met his beautiful bride Joyce Reilly Clautice in 8th grade and they were married for 61 wonderful years. Early in his Navy career, he served on the destroyer USS SARSFIELD (DD837, Key West, FL) and the diesel submarine USS BASHAW (SS241, Pearl Harbor, HI). He then joined the nuclear power submarine force and served on the USS SAM RAYBURN (SSBN 635, Charleston, SC), USS WILL ROGERS (SSBN 659, New London, CT), Instructor Staff at the Naval Submarine School (New London, CT), USS DACE (SSN 607, New London, CT), and as Executive Officer of the USS GEORGE C. MARSHALL (SSBN 654, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, WA). Captain Clautice completed the Program Managers Course at Defense Systems Management College (Fort Belvoir, VA) then served as Head of Test and Instrumentation Branch (SP25) Strategic Systems Project Office. Captain Clautice was the Commanding Officer of three commands: Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU, Cape Canaveral, FL), Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific (SWFPAC, Bangor, WA), and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL, Washington D.C). During his command tour at NOTU in Cape Canaveral, he founded the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC) Courageous Division (1981). He retired in 1989 after 30 years of distinguished service which included 3 Legion of Merit and 2 Meritorious Service Medals. Bill earned three Masters Degrees: M.S. Ocean Engineering (University of Rhode Island, 1971), M.S. Systems Management (University of Southern California, 1977), and M.B.A. (Stetson University, 1982). In his civilian career, he retired as Vice President for Dynamic Research Corporation after working as a consultant for Atlantic Research Corporation, and Coleman Research Corporation. He continued to contribute on the Editorial Review Committee for The Submarine Review. Bill treasured life experiences, especially traveling – and on a shoestring whenever possible. He was able to turn everything into a learning experience for not only himself but for whomever was with him. He was the consummate teacher, mentor and advisor. He also had a knack for telling stories with amazing recall of details, keeping us all at the dinner table for hours past the completion of the meal. Bill’s hobbies included sailing, golf, tennis, downhill skiing, horseback riding, judging high school science fairs, and playing ukulele at the local Irish pub. He loved his role as the patriarch of the family and thoroughly enjoyed watching his legacy grow through the years. We all saw a softer part of Bill in his role as PopPop. Bill is survived by his loving wife, Joyce; their three children Kimberly Badgett, Susanne (husband Mark) Openshaw, and James (wife Abigail) Clautice; nine grandchildren Kristen (husband Austin) Fisher and Kaitlin (husband Jeremy) Sternisha; Thomas, Colleen, Tara, and Claire Openshaw; Gabrielle, Reilly, and Olivia Clautice; and two great grandchildren Eli and Owen Fisher. A memorial service was held on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 1:00PM, Church of Our Saviour, Cocoa Beach, FL. Interment will be at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Brevard Parkinsons Alliance via check to 126 Celemente Drive, Satellite Beach, FL 32937.
