Jon Clodfelter proudly proclaims himself a son of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri and an adopted son of Frankford. He enlisted in the 
Army in March of 1976 when he was 21 years old because of a belief that every citizen in our country has a responsibility to the greater good. He saw the Army as a way of doing that.
His Army career as an Intelligence Analyst took him to a wide range of assignments at various command levels in Germany, Italy, Turkey, and at several different posts in the United States, such as Ft. Knox, KY, Ft. Bragg, NC, Ft. Huachuca, AZ, Presidio of Monterey, CA, the Pentagon, and Bolling Air Force Base, DC.
During those years of service in the Army he used the timeto self-educate for his undergraduate degree. All his credits came while studying part time at a half dozen different institutions as he traveled around in the military. His military career included:
- Recognition for social and cultural awareness along with language skills.
- Deployment several times with the 7th Special Forces Group, the 1st Infantry Division, and the Southern European Task Force.
- Decoration several times, though he is most proud of being the recipient of the National Défense Medal because his career was highlighted primarily by Cold War Intelligence service.
In May of 1992 he took a post-Gulf War early retirement from the Army and chose a new path and received his master’s degree of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He later served as chaplain at Thompson children’s home serving all the state of North Carolina focused primarily on helping sexual abuse victims.
In 2002, he joined St. Mark’s Church in Frankford as the 11th Rector. I first met Jon at an event in 2011 for a Frankford Gazette story. I walked in from Frankford Avenue along the walkway on the north side and as I got up to the door of the church, bumped into smiling guy, wearing overalls, I think and carrying a hammer. I thought he had to be the maintenance guy. That was Jon.
A guy with a hammer is not too far off the mark with Jon Clodfelter. He tries to be a fixer whenever possible, a listener all the time and a healer when it is called for.
He continues to serve the community of Frankford and a wider collection of folks linked to St. Marks in the same way that he served his county in the Army.
He and his wife Alice, have four adult children, and three grandchildren. Jon enjoys making his home life interesting.
Jon Clodfelter, Thank you for your service!!!
