Jerry Lee Clawson, 93, of The Villages, Florida, passed away peacefully on March 14, 2026, at Trinity Springs Memory Care.

Born February 12, 1933, in Lafayette, Indiana, he was the son of the late Robert L. and R. Lorene Clawson of Delphi. On June 22, 1958, he married Marcia J. Rimstidt in Rockport, Indiana. She died March 29, 2008, following a two-year battle with cancer.

Jerry is survived by his second wife, Kathleen M. Malloy, who he married on November 25, 2011, in The Villages. He is also survived by his daughter, Stacia Clawson, and her husband John Hogan, of The Villages.

Jerry graduated from Delphi High School in Indiana in 1951. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1959, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Indiana University Graduate School of Business in 1960.

A Korean War veteran, he was an aviation electronics technician in the U.S. Navy from 1952-1956. During part of that time, he served with Fighter Squadron 63 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex in the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea. When the squadron returned to the Alameda, California, Naval Air Station, Jerry was a member of the crew that converted it to Attack Squadron 63 – capable of delivering atomic weapons.

Jerry’s 35-year business career was in marketing research. Within that capacity he held analytical, managerial and directorial positions with Kimberly-Clark Corporation; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; L’eggs Hosiery, where he was on the marketing team that invented the L’eggs egg; L’erin Cosmetics; Wrangler Casual Apparel; and Swedish Match North America. During those years he and his family resided in Neenah, Wisconsin; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Owensboro, Kentucky; and Richmond, Virginia.

After retirement, he volunteered at two assisted living communities in Richmond. He also was a helper for the DAR William Byrd Chapter where his wife served as regent. Jerry moved to Carroll County, Indiana, in August 2008 and to The Villages in 2010.

Jerry was a past member of the Delphi, Indiana, American Legion Post 75, a member of the Delphi VFW Post 9383 and the American Legion Post 347 in Lady Lake. He served on the honor guard of those organizations for several years. He also was a director of the Delphi Lions Club and was a member of the International Game Fish Association, the Audubon Society, and the American Marketing Association.

Jerry enjoyed fishing and earned awards from Field and Stream magazine and the state of North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. He designed and built custom fishing rods for relatives and friends. He also enjoyed observing wild animals and birds, reading and card playing.

There will be no formal memorial service.