January 16, 2021
William Donald Clifton Sr., 88, passed away peacefully at home Monday, Jan. 14, 2021, following a long illness. He was the son of the late W. Carlton and Beatrice Clifton, having been born in the family home Aug. 29, 1932.
Donald Clifton was a lifelong farmer and one of the last Delaware vegetable canners. He was raised on the Clifton family dairy farm. During his career he witnessed dramatic changes in agriculture. As a boy, he handled mule-drawn equipment and in his later years, he drove some of today’s modern machines.
Donald appreciated the aroma of freshly turned soil, the contours of a prize angus bull, and the echo of a two-cylinder Model A John Deere tractor at dusk. He helped his father establish Carlton Clifton & Sons in 1948, eventually becoming owner/operator/president of Clifton Canning Company Inc. until closing the vegetable canning company in 1995.