Donald Walker Cluff

If you asked our father on any given day how he was doing he would likely respond something like “ba-humbug, mean and miserable” and nothing could be farther from the truth. Donald Walker Cluff, our beloved father, grandfather, friend, mentor, colleague, philanthropist, and husband of 60 years to our mother, Sheila Cluff, passed away at home surrounded by family on Thursday, May 21st.

Our dad was 93 years old and had an amazing life that stretched from Canada to New York to California. While he joked with his ba-humbug, he lived a life filled with laughter, dry wit, hard work, friends, family, nature, community and a beautiful love story.

Don was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1932, the son of Thomas Walker Cluff and Mildred Lockwood Montgomery Brereton and younger brother to Montgomery “Monty” Cluff.

As a Canadian through and through, he skied and ice skated from a young age; figure skating led him to first meet the love of his life, our mother, when he was just 12 years old. He graduated from Queens University in 1953 and soon was an electrical engineer in the paper industry. Through skating and a tight group of friends he and our mother met again and were married on July 16th, 1960.

Our parents soon moved over the border to Plattsburg, NY where they started a family, Kenneth (Ken), David (deceased in 1965), Catherine (Cathy) and Jocelyne (Jo-Jo). An opportunity for a move to California came in 1969, along with one more child, Kimberly (Kim), and a position as the Plant Engineer at the (now) Proctor & Gamble paper plant in Oxnard, where for 14 years he built a community of friends and colleagues and an award-winning co-generation project he was very proud of. 

At the same time our dad was also our mother’s greatest supporter as she built a career in health and wellness; they were an amazing partnership, in marriage and in work. Our parents opened The Oaks at Ojai in 1977, later opening the Palms at Palms Springs, and continued to build their businesses over 50 years. Their work together as a team was legendary. Our mother loved to tell the story of guests at The Oaks being shocked to see “Sheila kissing the maintenance man in his grubby overalls,” not realizing it was our dad, likely fresh from fixing a broken pipe or ice machine; hands on projects his engineer mind seemed to relish.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, father, grandfather, and friend, Don was also incredibly dedicated to the City of Ojai. He served many roles in Ojai, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Ojai Land Conservancy, the Ojai Visitors Bureau, and the Ojai Rotary Club East, and was a major contributor to the Libbey Bowl renovation. In recognition of his dedication to Ojai, Don was honored as a Living Treasure of Ojai Valley. One lasting legacy, and a great joy of our parents, was seeing the old gas station become the beautiful Vista Park for all of Ojai to enjoy.

After decades of hard work, traveling the world and always looking forward, our parents finally slowed down a little bit, to relax at their home in Mammoth and spend time with family. Our mother passed in 2020, and with a broken heart our father made the best of his days, enjoying friends, family, his dogs and the beauty of Ojai.

Don is survived by son Ken Cluff, his wife, Sarah and grandchildren Avery and Mabel, daughter Cathy Cluff, her wife, Crista, and grandchildren Sophia and Roman, daughter Kimberly Cluff, her husband, Bob, and grandchildren Kyle and wife Eunice, Catie Jo and Jake, daughter Jocelyne and her husband, Kim, and a host of beloved Canadian relatives.

As a family, we send our sincerest thanks to the many people that were friends, colleagues, and co-conspirators for good along the way, especially all of the caregivers that were dear to our parents, the generations of employees that worked alongside our parents, the “Guys Group,” a ready source of mayhem and laughter, trusted “second son” Shaun Oliphant, and many others.

There will be more information soon regarding a July celebration of life for both of our parents on what would have been their 66th wedding anniversary. 

In lieu of flowers, donations to either HELP of Ojai (helpofojai.org) or The C.R.E.W. (crewojai.org) are deeply appreciated.