Clifford George Rumsey, Sr.

Clifford George Rumsey, Sr.

January 9, 1940 – October 2, 2026 (age 86)

Clifford George Rumsey, Sr. passed away peacefully at home with family on October 2, 2026, in Bluffton, South Carolina after a diagnosis of melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

Born January 9, 1940, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania to Dolores Bernadette Howley and George Ellis Rumsey, Cliff graduated from Pennsylvania Military College with a BS in Economics and boy did he love playing the stock market!!

After graduation, Cliff went to work for Bethlehem Steel selling tin mill products to major companies like American, Continental, Ball and National. He also sold to food producing companies such as Stokely, Libby and Del Monte and to paint manufactures Brockway and Sherwin.

Cliff was an engaged father to his three children. He was an extremely loving partner and sole caregiver to his wife Judy until her death in 2024 from Alzheimer’s. Cliff had an adventurous spirit and enjoyed sports; especially skydiving, sailing, and golf. He was proud to have played at 9 of the top 100 golf courses in the U.S. which included Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina, and Saucon Valley Country Club (Old Course) in Pennsylvania.

Once Cliff retired from Bethlehem Steel he began his second career as a Certified Residential Appraiser for Boice Appraisals in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon relocating to Bluffton, South Carolina Cliff joined the Beaufort County Assessor’s Office. As a Real Property Appraiser, Cliff was responsible for the appraisals of multi-million-dollar single family residences and million-dollar condominiums which determined the ad valorem assessment – the official valuation of a property to calculate value-based taxes.

Until his dying days, Cliff still talked about his skydiving experiences. He fondly remembers the skydiving team he and his friends Joe Nichols and Eddie Marler of Eddystone, Pennsylvania formed. They competed in skydiving and parachute competitions and also performed at exhibitions. The trios most notable exhibition was in Chester, Pennsylvania at a 1960’s Independence Day celebration that thrilled a crowd of several thousand by landing on a 25-foot target laid out on a softball diamond. They exited the plane from an altitude of 8,000 feet and were in free-fall for about 35 seconds while falling 6,000 feet before pulling their chutes.

Cliff leaves his family to cherish his memory: a son Clifford Rumsey, Jr. (Mary) of Avon Lake, OH, daughters Deborah Rumsey (Kelly Patton) of Clearwater, FL and Kimberly Rumsey (Raymond Hill) of Bluffton, SC, sister-in-law Norma Myers (William) of Boothwyn, PA, and five grandchildren: Colleen Kaminski (Matt), Michael Rumsey, Matthew Rumsey, Tommy Rumsey, and Maggie Rumsey. He was preceded in death by his father, George Ellis Rumsey, his mother Dolores Bernadette Howley, his brother’s Peter Rumsey (Nancy), Michael Rumsey (Maureen), and sister Patricia Ricci (Fausto).

The family requests that in lieu of flowers a memorial donation be made in his memory to:

Melanoma: https://melanoma.org/how-to-help/give/

Pancreatic Cancer: https://pancan.org/