Ellis Earl "cliff" Clifton, 80, of 1729 Hatton Ford Rd., Hartwell, Ga., died April 21, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Jo Overstreet Clifton, his sister Lois and husband Lyn Wood of Smyrna, Ga., four children, Marcia Finucane of Lexington, KY., Andrea Acker of Dacula, Ga., Mark and wife Kim Clifton of Ashton, Md., David Clifton of Dunedin, Fla., eight grandsons, one granddaughter, and one great-grandson. Ellis grew up in Coffee County, Ga., and went into the US Navy at age 17 where he served on the USS Antietam in the South pacific, being discharged in 1946. He graduated from UGA in 1950 in Journalism where he was editor of The Red and Black, the college newspaper. He worked for several newspapers, The Atlanta Journal, Tampa Tribune, and St. Petersburg Times before going into law enforcement. In law enforcement, he rose to the rank of Captain in the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office. Several of his experiences are chronicled in Ace Atkin's 2006 novel, "White Shadow". He later became director of security and safety at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Ga. where he retired in 1991. He subsequently moved to Hartwell, Ga. where he spent his last few years enjoying his garden, fruit trees and fishing
A memorial service will be Friday, April 27, 2007 at 11:00 AM at Faith Lutheran Church, 900 Benson St., Hartwell, Ga., 30643. Reception will be held following the service. The family is at the home.