Clyde Arthur Selner

Clyde Arthur Selner, 68, of Kensington, husband of Betsy (Brown) Selner, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, May 3, 2019.  Born in Hartford, he was the son of the late Arthur W. and Evelyn (Seibert) Selner.

Clyde met his wife at Berlin High School and graduated Class of 1968.  He was a 1977 graduate of CCSU and, in addition, he also earned a master’s degree and sixth year certificate from SCSU.  Clyde served in the U.S. Navy from 1970 to 1974 as a hospital corpsman with the highlight being the year he spent in Ethiopia. He also served for five years with the Navy and Marine Reserve Unit in Hartford, CT.

Clyde taught Earth Science at South Windsor High School for over 30 years, teaching hundreds of ninth graders whose names he could never remember. He was a member of the National Science Teachers Association, to which he submitted presentations for conventions regarding “Consilience Between Science and Religion”. 

A staunch advocate of preserving open space, Clyde was a founding member of the Berlin Land Trust in 1988, and formerly served on the Wetland Commission.  He spent his years teaching, as well as his retirement, in pursuit of the conservation of land in town.

A consummate hoarder of everything useful (and some things which were not), Clyde enjoyed spending his retirement in the garage organizing what could not be organized. He dabbled in crafting items to sell on eBay, sometimes without success, but made with enjoyment. His “dad jokes” were told with his dry sense of humor and impeccable timing, greeted by eye rolls and laughter from his family and friends. Clyde truly enjoyed the great outdoors, showing his grandsons how to feed the birds and sharing his property with animals both wild and domesticated.

In addition to his wife, Clyde leaves a son, Alexander Selner and wife, Amber; his four grandsons, Brody, Iain, Aidan and Craig; his brother, Arland Selner and wife Patricia; his sister, Babette Wrobel and husband John; his mother-in-law, Shirley Brown; and his sister-in-law, Barbara Reynolds, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, May 10th, from 4-7 PM at Erickson-Hansen Funeral Home of Berlin/Porters, 111 Chamberlain Highway, Kensington.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Berlin Land Trust, Inc., P.O. Box 94, Berlin, CT 06037.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Clyde Arthur Selner, please visit our floral store.