Henry Siler Jr.

Henry Clifford (Cliff) Siler, 91, died December 1, 2012.  Cliff was born September 11, 1921, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of the late Henry C. Siler and Mildred McCartney Siler.  Cliff grew up in Independence, Missouri.  He attended Mount Washington Grade School, Northeast High School, William Chrisman High School, and graduated from Springfield High School in Springfield, Missouri.  Cliff was an Eagle Scout and grew up during the Depression years and he has entertained family and friends with his stories of those years.  One story was throwing the newspaper, the Independence Examiner, to Harry Truman, who often sat on his front porch waiting for the paper.  Cliff held many different jobs before World War II including the Sunflower Ordnance Works before joining the Navy in 1944.  He served in the South Pacific as a Hospital Corpsman and was discharged in 1946.  After the Navy, Cliff worked for Cudohy Packing House in Kansas City and eventually had his own customers selling meat to restaurants, hotels, and hospitals.  In 1959 he married Maxine Baumgartner Logus and shortly after went into the drive-in restaurant business.  His first drive-in was called "Cliffs" and the sign on the building said "Cliff keeps this place.  This place keeps Cliff."  After selling Cliffs he owned and operated two drive-in restaurants called Griff's Hamburgers.  He also was involved and managed Oyster Bay, a seafood restaurant on the Plaza.  After retiring in 1985, Cliff and Maxine moved to the Lake of the Ozarks and enjoyed many years of boating, fishing, and travel.  Cliff was one of the original members of the Ozark Jazz Society.  He volunteered for many different organizations and events at the Lake and had over 2,000 hours as a volunteer at Lake Regional Hospital.  He was a member of the Zack Wheat American Legion Post and VFW Post 5923. In 2009 Cliff and Maxine celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  In 2012 Cliff and his wife, Maxine, were named Senior King and Queen of the Camdenton Dogwood Festival.As a child Cliff was baptized and confirmed in the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints.  He later attended North Cross Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.  After moving to Camdenton, he attended and became a member of Camdenton United Methodist Church.  Cliff is survived by his wife, Maxine, and their children – a daughter, Susan Seitz, her husband, Quentin (Chip), and their two daughters, Britnay and Brooke, and a great grandson, Barry, all of Olathe, Kansas; and a son, Marc Siler, his wife, Anita, and their daughter, Emily, and son, Kyle, of Kansas City, Missouri.  Cliff is also survived by three other children:  Sandra Tyree of Redmond, Oregon; Clifford Siler, of Euless, Texas; and Harriet Mosco and her husband, Joe, of Aurora, Colorado, and their children and grandchildren; a sister, Ellora Easley, of Phoenix, Arizona; and sister-in-law, Dorothy Siler, of Chesapeake, Virginia; and nieces and nephews.  Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, William.  Cliff and his fondness for storytelling of events in his life will be greatly missed.  He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and his memory will be cherished forever.A Celebration of Life service will be held December 15, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. at Camdenton United Methodist Church, 340 W. US Highway 54, Camdenton, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Camdenton United Methodist Church or Lake Regional Hospital Auxiliary. Arrangements: Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home, Kansas City, Missouri (816-734-5500)

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