Ethel Mae Clifton, 81, of Wabash, Indiana, died at 6:02 pm, Monday, December 15, 2025, at Parkview Wabash Hospital. She was born on May 5, 1944, in Paintsville, Kentucky, to Clayton and Gracie (Boyd) Bowling.
Ethel married George Clifton, Jr. in Van Lear, Kentucky on June 2, 1962; he died November 18, 2020. She worked at GenCorp in Wabash 20 years, retiring in 1999. Ethel was a longtime member of the Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church. She enjoyed traveling, but other than that was a homebody who loved her quiet time.
She is survived by two children, Melissa (Mike) Reed of Wabash and Mark (Shannon) Clifton of Huntington, Indiana; two grandchildren, Matthew (Carrie) Reed and Brandi Reed, both of Wabash, and her sister, Lorraine (Donald) Music of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, George Clifton Jr., grandson, David Clifton, as well as seven brothers and four sisters.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, 1241 Manchester Avenue, Wabash. Entombment will be in Chapel of Remembrance Mausoleum at Memorial Lawns Cemetery, Wabash. Friends may call 9-11:00 a.m., Saturday, at the funeral home.
Preferred memorial is Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church.
The memorial guest book for Ethel may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen.com.
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