Lions, fair board honor Paradise man
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July 25, 2019
Ed Moreth
IN HONOR – The family of Clyde Terrell pose for their photograph at his plaque at the Agriculture Building at Sanders County Fairgrounds. From left are daughter-in-law Mary Terrell, son Greg Terrell, daughter Kim Burgess, great-granddaughter Dempsey Burgess, grandson Dusty Burgess and his wife Tricia Burgess.
A longstanding member of Paradise was honored last Wednesday as a tribute to his selfless devotion to the community by dedicating the Agriculture Building at the Sanders County Fairgrounds to the late Clyde Terrell.
Nearly 40 people showed up for the Plains Lions Club dedication, which included a large brass plaque attached to the building. Those in attendance included a dozen Lions members and five people from the Terrell family. Terrell's daughter Kim Burgess and Terrell's great-granddaughter Dempsey Burgess unveiled the plaque.
Terrell passed away in 2016, but he devoted much of his life in Sanders County to helping people and volunteering for countless causes and people, according to testimony at the event. He even played Santa Claus in a small booth at the fairgrounds some 15 feet from where his plaque is displayed. He was awarded the Sanders County Community Service Award in 2006, one of 24 awardees, for his work in the communities of Plains and Paradise. The fair board two years ago voted unanimously to honor Terrell by dedicating the Agriculture Building to him because of the love for his garden and flowers.
Terrell's son, Greg, and his wife, Mary, his grandson Dusty Burgess and his wife, Tricia, all of Missoula, were also on hand for the ceremony. The plaque was paid for by Ron Warren and Wade Rehbein of Plains and made in Bozeman. The plaque was designed by Plains resident 19-year-old Malachi Paulsen. It took Paulsen around 35 hours to draw Terrell's face and he did all the lettering by hand.
"Clyde was a very great man. I don't think I ever saw him that he didn't have a smile on his face," said Steve Spurr, the Lions president and one of the organizers of the event. The Plains Lions Club also celebrated its 75th anniversary this year in a dinner at the fairgrounds prior to the unveiling.
Terrell was a member of the Plains Lions Club and the Plains-Paradise Methodist Church for more than 40 years. He also served on the Paradise School Board for 23 years He had lived in Paradise since 1972. He retired as an Air Force colonel in 1972 and lastly from Rehbein Ford in 2010.
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