Clarence Pollard

Graveside services for Clarence Pollard are scheduled for 11:00 am Monday, December 18, 2023, at South Park Cemetery, Roswell, New Mexico, with Chaplain Chris Lethgo officiating. Clarence Pollard of Roswell, New Mexico, passed away on December 13 at the age of 102 years and 350 days. He moved to Roswell in 1945 and spent the next seventy-five years of his life living, raising a family, working, and running a business in this community. Clarence was born on December 28, 1920, in Rayford, Oklahoma, to Estes Pollard and Myrtle Woods Pollard. He was the fourth of what would eventually become eleven siblings. On March 24, 1941, Clarence and Margaret Foster were married in Oklahoma and celebrated sixty-two anniversaries before her death in 2003. Together, Clarence and Margaret raised two daughters, Judy and Kathy. In 1944, Clarence was called up to the army. That was when he found out that he had tuberculosis and was declared medically unfit for military service. He and Margaret moved to Roswell in 1945 for his health. Under the care of a doctor who also had tuberculosis, he recovered and was able to start working again. In 1954, Clarence was contacted by a member of the Roswell School Board, wanting to know if he would like to bid on running school buses to Roswell High. He won the bid and, along with Margaret, ran two bus routes. This new business grew and became several enterprises. By the time Clarence retired in 1985, he had contracted with Walker Air Force Base to pick up trash at the base and the missile sites until the base closed; he ran four buses for St. Peter’s Catholic Church; and for thirty-one years, Clarence and Margaret owned and operated Pollard Bus Company for the school district with 40 school busses, 35 routes, 38 drivers, and a Charter Permit. Family was important to Clarence. There was nothing he enjoyed more than gathering and visiting with his immediate and extended family. He was a natural storyteller, a sharp Pitch player, and a historian with amazing recall of family, Roswell, and Oklahoma history. Clarence was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Foster Pollard; parents: Estes and Myrtle Pollard; brothers: Harlan, Raymond, and Thelbert Pollard; sisters: Berthal Ennis, Lela Pollard, and Faye Dismukes; brothers-in-law: Carl Ennis, Herman Dismukes, Cecil Pendergrass, Jr., Arthur Foster, and Clifton Foster; sisters-in-law: Gladys, Marvel, Juanita, and Betty; and nephew, Cecil Pollard. He is survived by his daughters, Judy Morris of Ruidoso, NM, and Kathy Pollard of Roswell, NM; siblings: Condell Pollard, Juanita Whitaker, Ralph Pollard, Jerry Lawson; and Kay Pollard. Clarence is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.

Clarence Pollard

December 28, 1920 - December 13, 2023