Clifton "Clif" Smith-Shultz

While the world was in the grips of the 2nd world war, Clifton James Smith-Shultz, son of Nora Ada (Hunt) and Clifton Robert Smith, was welcomed into the world on May 8th, 1943, in Lansing, Michigan. Sadly, Clifton Robert was shipped overseas with the Army’s 5th Division, 11th Infantry in 1942 and died 7 months following the birth of his son without ever meeting his beautiful baby boy.

Most of Clif’s childhood was spent in Charlotte, Michigan. It was here that he began his 65-year journey with the Boy Scouts of America in Troop 45. Clif was a multi-sport high school athlete and served as an altar boy for 8 years at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Clif graduated from Charlotte High School in 1961 and remained close to many of his fellow classmates. He was a proud Oriole who loved planning and attending the class reunions. Clif held many jobs in his youth. He worked at nearly every gas station in Charlotte, was the first janitor at the new St. Mary’s school and served as a program counselor for the Charlotte Summer Recreation Program.

Clif made time to have plenty of fun too. As a young man, he was an avid Skier and golfer with a goal to play/ski as many locations in the state of Michigan as possible. He also played city league baseball, shot skeet and bowled in leagues. Clif also raced stock cars at drag strips all over the state. In 1962 he won at Central Michigan Dragway with his 1958 gold Chevy Impala, “The Gold Nugget”.

In 1963, Clif took a job at Roskam Baking Company in Lansing as a route manager. Clif excelled in this new role, taking a route with the lowest sales, tripled its sales and made it the highest grossing route in the company. In the summer of 1965, while delivering bread to a small family-owned grocery store in Owosso, Michigan, Clif’s life was forever changed when he met the love of his life, Susan Marie Haber. Six months later, on February 19, 1966, Clif and Sue were married at St. Paul Catholic Church in Owosso. It thrilled Clif to be a part of Sue’s large family and to become a big brother to Sue’s 12 siblings. He loved each of them deeply.

Clif and Sue moved to Kalamazoo when they got married so that Clif could manage his stepfather Bert Shultz’s new state-of-the-art coin-operated car wash. Clif so deeply admired and respected Bert, who had no children of his own, that he would later change the family’s last name to Shultz.

In 1975, Clif started work at the Upjohn Company as a Security Guard, then later as a Pipefitter. As a pipefitter, he made changes to the steam trap and relief device programs and worked closely with Armstrong International to design new traps and rupture devices. These changes earned Clif Upjohn’s Chuck Bell Award. He retired in 2000.

Clif was a dedicated member of the BSA. In addition to being a Boy Scout, Clif was also part of the ‘new’ program in the BSA – Exploring. He served as the first Explorer Cabinet President in the Chief Okemos Council. As an adult, Clif was a leader for his son’s Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop, and later for his oldest grandson’s Pack and Troop. Clif served as race director for the Explorer Seahorse Triathlon for many years, during which time the race became a qualifier for the Ironman Triathlon. He served in many, many other roles within the BSA, directing and serving on staff for countless training programs. He was a dedicated leader and mentor who lived up to the Scout Oath and Law in every aspect of his life. Clif’s passion for Scouting was contagious and his love for people was apparent to all who knew him.

Above all, Clif was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. He loved his wife with all his heart. In 1967, Clif and Sue grew their family with the birth of their son, James Clifton. Two years later they welcomed their daughter, Carin Jane. Clif was a very involved father. He served as a class parent, coach and, of course, Scout Leader. In 1988, he became a grandfather. He loved being “Papa Clif” and his grandchildren loved him. Clif and Sue enjoyed many great travel adventures together over the course of their 59-year marriage. Most notably, trips to Hawaii, traveling to Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, California and Florida to visit friends and family, and an Alaskan cruise/bus tour.

On the evening of Friday, May 2nd, 2025, Clif passed away at his home surrounded by family following a 5-year journey with cancer. He was preceded in death by his father, Clifton Robert Smith; mother, Nora Ada (Hunt) Shultz; stepfather, Berton A. Shultz; father-in-law, William Haber; mother-in-law, Alice (Hamblin) Haber; and brother-in-law, Bill Haber. Left to mourn Clif’s passing and carry on his legacy are his loving wife, Susan Marie (Haber) Shultz; children, James Shultz of Kalamazoo and Carin (Rick) Standish of Schoolcraft; grandchildren: Amanda Shepherd, Aaron Mautz, Daniel Standish, Asher Standish, Nora Schultz, Raiden Shultz, and Michaela Shultz; great-grandchildren Grace Shepherd and Ezekiel Hooper; dear friends, Tom and Jo Anne Fogle, brothers and sisters-in-law, many nieces and nephews, his god-children Barbara Haber and Christopher Hutchison, his Scouting family and many friends. The family wishes to express their heart-felt thanks to Clif’s Centrica Care Navigators care team, especially his nurse, Gary, and aide, Jessica. Words cannot adequately express the depth of the family’s gratitude for Gary’s compassionate care during Clif’s last moments with us on Earth.

Please join us at a Life Story Visitation where stories will be shared from 5-7 pm on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900. Life Story Services will be held at the same location at 11 am on Friday, May 16, 2025. A reception will be held immediately following the service in the Life Story Center. Celebrate Clif’s life online by sharing your favorite stories and photos on his dedicated webpage at BetzlerLifeStory.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Clif’s memory to Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes or Centrica Care Navigators.