Al Clough

Al Clough, 85, of Ellston died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at Clearview Home in Mount Ayr.

Graveside services will be 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at Rose Hill Cemetery in Lamoni. The Rev. Steve McElroy will officiate the service. Open visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, with family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Armstong Funeral Home, 205 W. Monroe St., in Mount Ayr. Memorials may be made to Tingley mealsite. Online condolences may be left at www.armstrongfh.com.

Al, son of Fred and Dora (Hill) Clough, was born Nov. 7, 1931, in a farmhouse near Tingley. He grew up on a farm. He first attended junior college at Creston playing on the basketball team before graduating from Iowa State College receiving a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry. While there, he was a member of the livestock judging team that won the American Royal judging contest in 1953. After graduation, he served two years in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. Upon his return, he worked for Iowa State Extension Service as a 4-H youth agent.

On Aug. 6, 1960, Al married Dorothy Dukeshier at Grace Methodist Church in Des Moines. They lived in Corning and Creston while he worked for Doughboy Feeds before moving to the farm near Lamoni. In addition to farming, he was an auctioneer, judged livestock at regional fairs and worked the ring at cattle sales throughout the Midwest. In the early 1970s, he began breeding and raising registered Charolais cattle. He liquidated his herd in 1993, and began raising Thoroughbred horses which raced at Prairie Meadows and other tracks around the country. He is known for his memoir “The Old Man on the Deck.”

Al is survived by his daughter Candee (Kirk) Parkhurst of Fremont, Michigan; sons, Calvin (Bonnie) Clough of Wichita, Kansas, and Samuel Clough of Osceola; and grandchildren, Brett Parkhurst, Kathryn Parkhurst, Matthew Clough, Hannah Clough and Kara Clough.

Al was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; seven year-old daughter Carla; and sisters, Aleeta, Althea and Gean.