Obituaries

Clifford “Darrell” Friend, 83, of Connersville, Indiana, died Wednesday, March 6, 2024,
at Reid Health Hospice, Richmond, Indiana where he was a patient for eight days. Prior
to his death Darrell had been a resident of Autumn Trace in Connersville since November 2023.
Darrell was born in McDermott, Ohio on November 24, 1940, to Clifford T. and Pauline
L. Braden Friend, he graduated from Connersville High School with the class of
1958. Later, in 1966, he attended the first Joint Apprenticeship classes offered by the
U.S. Department of Labor focusing on Electrical Maintenance and was a member of the
first graduating class in 1970. On June 4, 1960, Darrell married Mary E.
Avery officiated by Reverend Brown at Central Christian Church, Connersville. Mary
preceded Darrell in death passing away December 18, 1998.
Darrell was employed for 33 years at Design and Manufacturing Corporation/WCI. His
long career in appliance manufacturing began with Design & Manufacturing Corporation
in 1959 and lasted until 1987 when the company sold to White Consolidated Industries.
Darrell continued his employment with WCI until the company moved their operations to
North Carolina in 1993. After the closure of the Connersville WCI plant Darrell remained
a journeyman electrician and began a new adventure in automotive
manufacturing landing a job at Chrysler Corporation in 1993 where he remained until his
retirement in 2003.
Active in his community, Darrell served on the Fayette County School Board from 1978
to 1984, which began by a nomination from Sam Regenstreif to the board. In
1981, Darrell had the privilege to personally hand his son his diploma on the CHS
football field as a member of the school board. Later, Darrell was nominated by L. Lee
Burke to serve on the Ivy Tech Board of Regions and remained in that position from
1980 to 1984.
He was a member of the Elks Lodge and the Sertoma Club. In his leisure
time he enjoyed fishing with his buddy Randy at Brookville Lake and several other
locations around the country.
Survivors include two children, Christopher S. Friend (Jenny) of Connersville and Amy
E. Friend-Creech (Roger) of Hebron, Kentucky; four grandchildren, Lindsay C.
Alston (Conrad) of Connersville, Alexander Creech of Connersville, Benjamin C.
Friend (Caitlin) of Chicago, Illinois, and Gabriel Creech of Connersville; in-laws, Charles
Avery, Diana Weaver, Leah Adams, Lewie Linke and Susan Joest; fourteen nieces and
nephews; and special friends Randy and Kathy Lucas.
Besides his wife of 38 years, Mary E. Friend, Clifford was preceded in death by his
parents; brother, Ronald L. Friend; and grandparents, John R. Friend, Norma Friend,
Henry Braden, and Carrie Braden.