Clyde “Peewee” Elmer Lovett, age 97, of Clarksville, TN, passed away on Thursday, April 4, 2024. A memorial gathering will occur at 2 p.m., followed by a Taps ceremony at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2024, at Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home. He will be laid to rest at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.
Peewee was born in Atlanta, Louisiana, on December 18, 1926, to the late Beauford Lovett and Della Oakes Lovett. Born into a sharecropper family, he was the youngest of six children. As a young man, he spent time working at the Cotton Belt Railroad in Shreveport, Louisiana.
In 1944, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Navy to fight in World War II. He was stationed on the Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) FF–790, served as a Radio Operator, rose to the rank of Radioman Petty Officer, 2nd Class (RM2c), and was honorably discharged after serving two years. He was awarded the American Area Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Area Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal for his service.
His training as a machinist in the military helped him carve out a career as an automotive upholsterer, a field he spent 63 years in, most of which was spent in his own shop in Compton, California.
He is preceded in death by his second wife, Fleta L. Gamble, and first wife, Duchess Domrose. He is survived by his stepdaughter, Ann Marie Gamble Mathis, son-in-law, Kevin Mathis of Clarksville, and numerous family and friends.
Arrangements entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home.