Clifford Abramson, "Cliff", a longtime resident of Spokane, passed away on June 10 from complications of pneumonia.
Cliff was born on Feb. 9, 1932, in Queens, NY, to Louis and Elizabeth Abramson (Freeman). He joined the Air Force at the age of 18, and during his 20 years of service he was stationed at many different places, including Geiger AFB, Japan, Labrador, England, Thailand and various places around the US. He was proud to have been part of The National Emergency Airborne Command Post under The Joint Chiefs of Staff while at Andrews Air Force Base.
He came to Spokane in the early 1950s and there he met and married Beverley Lundstrom in 1954. Cliff was a self-taught guitar player and enjoyed playing in bands wherever he was living. He never learned to read music, but he could play any song he wanted just by listening to it. He was preceded in death by his wife, Beverley, his parents, his brother Louis, and his sister Joyce.
He was a longtime member of The Shriners' Spokane Lodge 34, Spokane Scottish Rite, and El Katif Shrine.
For many years he enjoyed meeting with a special group of friends for morning coffee to discuss the events of the day. Cliff's favorite hobby in the past few years was going to the casinos and playing the slot machines.
He is survived by his five children: Paul Abramson, Claudia Magnuson (Ed), Laura Green (Roger), Sally Morgan and Janice Abramson. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Darcie, Kevin, Eric, Michael, Sara, Amanda, Katie, Mark and Kelly; and 12 great grandchildren: Zach, Eva, Josh, Matthew, Lucas, Desirae, Caleb, Dillon, Austin, Abigail, James and Rowan.
Cliff lived with a kidney donated by his daughter Sally for the past seven years. We know he would wish to thank his doctors, who gave him excellent care, including Dr. Wickre, Dr. Stagaman and The Rockwood Clinic Diabetes Dept. We would like to thank the medical team at Sacred Heart, whose compassion was greatly appreciated.
The viewing will be Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the funeral home. A military burial will be held on June 18 at 12:00 in the afternoon at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery. A memorial will be on July 16 at 1 p.m. at the family cabin on Long Lake. Please call 466-9173 or e-mail
rlskg@comcast.net for directions.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Shiners' Children's Hospital, PO Box 2472, Spokane WA 99210. Please visit Cliff's online tribute and leave a condolence at
www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com. Arrangements by
