Clayton Berdell Tolliver, 92, of Oak Ridge, passed away January 8, 2016 at Tennova Residential Hospice, Powell, after a brief illness. A longtime resident of Oak Ridge, Berdell is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Frances Greene Tolliver; a brother, Edward Byrdean Tolliver of Johnson City, TN; son Gregory Tolliver and his wife Glenda of Oak Ridge; grandchildren Katie Tolliver Jones and her husband Terry of Knoxville and Abigail Tolliver of Oak Ridge.

Berdell was born on Valentine’s Day, 1924, in Benham, Kentucky, to Harmon and Minnie Leona Hale Tolliver. His dad was a traveling electrician in the coal mines of eastern Kentucky, his mom a custom seamstress. The dangers coal miners faced led Harmon to want a different future for his young sons.  He found a factory job in Elizabethton, Tennessee, an area with strong schools, where the boys would have other career choices.

Berdell’s parents appreciated the blessing of a son who loved working the family’s farm in Elizabethton. Curious and lively, Berdell also excelled in school and was active in two church youth groups and so many extracurricular clubs his classmates voted him “Busiest.” Berdell picked up a lifelong love of reading from his mom, a volunteer librarian who maintained the community library on the family’s back porch. From his dad, a merry, mischievous practical joker, came Berdell’s frequent smiles and a twinkle in the eye, gifts he shared with so many others for decades, as the front door greeter at Robertsville Baptist Church, Oak Ridge.

The hallmark of Berdell Tolliver’s life was service to his church, community, and country. An early member of Robertsville, Berdell chaired the original building committee and provided exceptionally long-term service and leadership to the deacons and finance committee. If the church doors were open, he was there in support. As a community volunteer, he provided telephone assistance through Contact Ministries and managed a Civil Defense shelter.

As a young man, Berdell was an aircraft deck officer in the Navy and continued in the reserves for 10 years afterward.  During World War II, he served in the Philippines on the U.S.S. Pokomoke, a seaplane refueling ship. In return for his service, he received a government-paid college education. He gratefully and energetically seized the opportunity, graduating from The University of Michigan in 1949, then returning to Tennessee to marry his hometown sweetheart, Mary Frances.

Berdell worked for Kaighin and Hughes in Oak Ridge and for a series of Operating Contractors to the U.S. Department of Energy. He retired from Martin Marietta in 1989 and continued work as a consultant. His specialty was designing piping systems for nuclear reactors. His career niche seems to have been lightening his coworkers’ days with humor: poems, jokes, and cartoons. One highlight of his long career was the opportunity to collaborate in designing a box used on Apollo space flights. Now on display at the Smithsonian, the container was used to return lunar rocks without exposing people to radiological or other hazards.

Berdell was an adventurous traveler when on leave during South Pacific military service and in later years visited Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, and Venezuela. At home he was a patient and kind father and grandfather. He loved growing orchids and outdoor gardening. Always learning, he read The Economist cover-to-cover weekly until age 92. His other enthusiasms were a fortunate pairing: daily dark chocolate and exercise.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, January 15, 2017 from 12:30 – 2pm at Weatherford Mortuary. The funeral will begin at 2:00pm with Rev. Brian Scott officiating. A brief graveside service will follow at Oak Ridge Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Robertsville Baptist Church, 251 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. An on-line guest book can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.