Clifford Devaughn Windsor

Clifford DeVaughn Windsor, of Atlanta, died Monday, January 4, 2010.

He was born December 9, 1919, in Elkhart, Indiana, and grew up there. Nicknamed "Duke" as a young man (after the then-famous Duke of Windsor), he served in the U. S. Army Air Corps  during World War II, working as an airplane mechanic stationed in Great Britain.  After the war ended, he spent time in France, where he visited art galleries and museums.  He also studied painting at Oxford University.  He next resided in Connecticut and then in New York, where he began working as an artist. He studied at New York University, and at Parsons School of Design, the Art Students League, and the Pratt Institute in New York City. For more than fifty years, he worked both in the fine arts and as a commercial artist. In New York, he did commercial work for some of the leading design studios for nearly fifteen years. Subsequently, he moved back to northern Indiana in order to have more time to paint, and opened Windsor Graphic Studio there. Besides advertising and public relations work, Mr. Windsor also produced beautiful and memorable work in a variety of mediums and genres, producing everything from small sketches to murals. He worked in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and airbrush, producing realistic landscape and wildlife paintings and portraits, but also abstract works developed from the landscapes he saw. He was an accomplished pencil and charcoal artist, and also a printmaker, producing woodcuts and lithographs on various themes. He taught classes occasionally, and continued to draw and paint into his late 80s. His works were exhibited in galleries and shows wherever he lived. Married several times, he met the love of his life, Lois Yoder Rensberger, when he was in his 50s. They married shortly after his 65th birthday, and December 2009 marked their 25th anniver­sary. "Somehow, we just fit," Mrs. Windsor said. He always delighted in taking care of her, and insisted on doing small things for her, even if it was just getting her a glass of water. Duke and Lois lived in Elkhart for a time, and thereafter in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Malone, New York; and for the past 18 years in Sylva, North Carolina, preferring to live where there were mountain landscapes close by. In August 2009, they moved to metro Atlanta, residing in the Summer's Landing assisted living residence on Northland Drive. In Elkhart, Malone, and Sylva, they established free-lance public relations agencies. Duke's art­istic gifts and Lois's skill as a writer allowed them to work as a team on projects for numerous business and institutional clients. Besides Lois, Mr. Windsor is survived by three children, Neil Windsor of Crested Butte, Colorado, Bruce Windsor of Louisville, Kentucky, and Alice Windsor of British Columbia; four stepchildren, David Rensberger of Decatur, Georgia, Eric Rensberger of Bloomington, Indiana, Susan Rensberger of Panama City, Panama, and Jeffrey Rensberger of Kingwood, Texas; a twin brother, Richard Windsor, and a brother, William Windsor, both of Elkhart, Indiana; and eleven grandchildren and step-grandchildren. A sister, Irene Windsor, and a daughter, Sue Anne Buch­man, preceded him in death. The body was cremated. Plans are in preparation for a memorial service to be held later this year. A. S. Turner & Sons