Referenced in the family

Clifford Raeburn Paulson

b. 1922

Life

8 Aug 1922Born

Records & Research

Clifford Raeburn Paulson was born 8 August 1922 in Flint, Michigan, son of Raeburn Iver Paulson and Esther Eunice Bills. A FindAGrave columbarium record gives his death as 30 August 2014 and his interment, with his wife Netta, at the All Saints Episcopal Church Columbarium in Frederick, Maryland. Per his wife’s 2017 obituary he met Netta (maiden surname Alameda) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; they were married about 62 years (he predeceased her) and were active in a Norwegian heritage society. The New England Ball Project (person #55006, verified via the Internet Archive) records his birthplace as Flint, Michigan and gives an alternate death date of 1 May 2014; where the two sources differ on the death date, the FindAGrave columbarium record (30 August 2014) is preferred.

Clifford Raeburn Paulson was born 8 August 1922; the full distinctive name (including the middle name 'Raeburn', echoing his father Raeburn Iver Paulson) and the exact birth date match the family report.

1922-08-08 grave ↗
Clifford Raeburn Paulson died 30 August 2014 and is interred at the All Saints Episcopal Church Columbarium, Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (plot: second row from top, second column from left), in the same plot as his wife Netta.

2014-08-30 · Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (interment) grave ↗cemetery ↗
Clifford married Netta (maiden surname Alameda; Netta Alameda Paulson, b. 8 Sep 1930 – d. 16 Jul 2017, Hagerstown, MD), whom he met at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the marriage lasted about 62 years and Clifford predeceased her.

· met at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; couple resided in the Frederick/Hagerstown, Maryland area obituary ↗grave ↗

Differs from the report

death.date: report says “No death recorded in the known facts (death: null)”, records indicate “30 August 2014 per FindAGrave columbarium record (trusted). An alternate date of 1 May 2014 'at Hagerstown, MD' attributed to the New England Ball Project genealogy site is NOT trusted.”. The FindAGrave columbarium interment record (30 Aug 2014) is a primary cemetery source, corroborated by the shared plot with his documented spouse Netta. The New England Ball Project (via the Internet Archive) gives 1 May 2014; the cemetery record is preferred. Both sources agree on the year 2014. grave ↗Internet Archive ↗

Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.

Clifford was educated at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (consistent with, but not independently confirming, the family report's B.S.E. and M.S. from the University of Michigan). likely

· University of Michigan, Ann Arbor · Netta's obituary places Clifford at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (where they met). The obituary does not state his specific degrees, so the report's B.S.E./M.S. is only inferentially supported by this single source. obituary ↗
Clifford and Netta had at least six children: a daughter Lani (Wilkinson; predeceased Netta), Dr. Lyn Olson, Lee Paulson, Marshall Paulson, Lisa Newell, and Lele Wentworth. likely

· Netta returned to school 'after having six children'; her obituary lists surviving children Lyn Olson, Lee Paulson, Marshall Paulson, Lisa Newell, Lele Wentworth, plus predeceased eldest daughter Lani Wilkinson. These are stated as Netta's children; given the ~62-year marriage they are almost certainly Clifford's as well, but the obituary does not name Clifford as their father, so parentage by Clifford is inferred (single source). obituary ↗
Clifford had a documented grandchild, Jessie Lee O'Sullivan Ward (1988–2023), whose memorial names 'Clifford and Netta Paulson' as her grandparents. likely

· A FindAGrave memorial for Jessie Lee Ward names Clifford and Netta Paulson as her grandparents, corroborating the Clifford + Netta family unit. This is a single secondary-relationship source for Clifford specifically. grave ↗
Clifford and Netta were members of a Norwegian heritage society; Clifford is described as having Norwegian forebears. likely

· Downgraded from 'confirmed'. Heritage-society membership is plausibly drawn from Netta's obituary (cited), but the original note justified 'Norwegian descent' only by reasoning from the surname Paulson, which is a common patronymic shared across Scandinavia and not distinctively Norwegian. No primary record of Clifford's Norwegian ancestry was located, so this rests on a single inferential anchor. obituary ↗

Open questions (4)

Clifford's specific degrees and occupation: the report's B.S.E. and M.S. from the University of Michigan are consistent with the obituary placing him at U. Michigan, but no source confirms the exact degrees or his career/occupation.
Are all six of Netta's children (Lani, Lyn, Lee, Marshall, Lisa, Lele) confirmed as Clifford's biological children? The obituary lists them as Netta's; explicit parentage by Clifford was not separately stated.
Marriage date and place (year) for Clifford and Netta were not located (only the ~62-year duration is documented).
Norwegian ancestry: confirmation depends on the obituary's heritage-society reference; no primary record of Clifford's Norwegian forebears was found, and the surname alone is not distinctively Norwegian.

Sources consulted (6)

Ancestry

Four generations back. Tap any name to recenter the chart, or open the full family tree.

Clifford Raeburn Paulson b. 1922

father Raeburn Iver Paulson 1893–1970

father Iver Paulsen 1853–1931

father Paul Olsen 1822–1885

mother Embjor Iversdater 1828–1905

mother Maude Irene Wright 1869–1935

father Zenas Hovey Wright 1838–1926

mother Mary Jane Nott 1848–1927

mother Esther Eunice Bills 1895–1990

father Fred A Bills 1862–1926

father Dan Buell Bills 1830–1914

mother Mary Jane Ball 1835–1862

mother Sarah Jane French 1866–1950

father Joseph French 1823–1900

mother Grace Catherine Beever 1836–1911