Capt. Clifford Thuot Sr.; Served in Navy 28 Years

Clifford Gerald Thuot Sr., 86, a retired Navy captain who later worked at the Federal Trade Commission, died Sept. 6 of multiple myeloma at his home in Fairfax City.

Capt. Thuot was born in New Bedford, Mass., and graduated from high school at 16. He worked in textile mills and then as an apprentice machinist in a torpedo factory at the beginning of World War II. He also played bass fiddle in a small dance band.

In August 1943, he became a naval aviation cadet and eight months later received his wings of gold. He flew a variety of aircraft, including the Douglas AD-4B Skyraider, in combat missions off the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain during the Korean War.

During his 28-year Navy career, Capt. Thuot's assignments included executive officer at the Naval Air Station in Grosse Ile, Mich., and his last assignment was as chief of the transmission system engineering division of the Defense Communications Engineering Office in Washington.

He received many military honors, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with one star and the Navy Commendation Medal with V. He retired from active duty in 1971.

In his second career, Capt. Thuot was a supervisor in the records division at the Federal Trade Commission until retiring in 1984.

While working full time and sharing in the rearing of his eight children, Capt. Thuot attended night school and received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1969. He also completed 18 hours toward a graduate degree in education at the University of Virginia.

A resident of Little River Hills in Fairfax City for 49 years, Capt. Thuot served as a Little League baseball coach and umpire. He was a member of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, where he served as an usher, and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

Early on, Capt. Thuot and his wife played golf and were members of a bowling league. He also was a penny-ante poker player, and for more than 30 years he and a group of friends gathered for poker games three times a week. Until recently, Capt. Thuot planted a garden every year and shared vegetables with his neighbors.

When his wife suffered a stroke in 1992, Capt. Thuot became her caregiver and assumed domestic responsibilities for the household. Claire Rita Thuot, to whom he was married for 55 years, died in 2000.

Survivors include eight children, former astronaut and retired Navy Capt. Pierre Thuot of Centreville, Michael Thuot of Warrenton, Fairfax Fire Department Capt. Gregory Thuot of Stafford, Suzanne Aldrich of Toledo, Jeanne Kimball of Tallahassee, Clifford G. Thuot Jr. of Houston, Christine Ross of Falmouth, Mass., and Stephen Thuot of Athens, Ga.; 15 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.