By Sallie James
BOCA RATON — He was a savvy Boca Raton entrepreneur whose 62-year-old business is still open today, but those closest to Clyde E. DeShields say his greatest legacy was his devotion to family and dedication to helping single mothers. Mr. DeShields died at home on July 18 after a lengthy history of cancer. He was 89.
Mr. DeShields was born March 20, 1930, to Clyde and Dovie DeShields in Atlanta, but grew up in Fort Lauderdale, where he delivered newspapers as a boy, raised chickens and raced horses. His daughter, Debbie Stine, said he was always looking for ways to get ahead in life, having grown up in the care of a single mother from age 10. His mother worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Her struggles were something he never forgot, and his determination to help single mothers came from witnessing his mother’s efforts to support three children.
“His mother worked in the local drugstore and he knew he had to help out, and that is where a lot of that stemmed from. They were very, very poor,” Stine said.
In the early 1950s, Mr. DeShields served in the U.S. Army, spending time in South Carolina, Indiana and Japan.
He married Marjorie Larson in 1952, and founded Smith and DeShields Inc. in Boca Raton in 1957.
He became known as a fierce competitor and a fair employer. The family-owned business — which manufactures doors, door hardware and molding — is operated by his children today, with offices in Boca Raton, Jupiter, Fort Myers and Naples.
Mr. DeShields was an avid outdoorsman who loved to fish, ride horses and enjoy nature. In 1979, he and his wife purchased property in Montana, where he fell in love with the West. But his roots were always in Boca.
He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and quietly provided financial assistance to single mothers and their children through his church connections. But he never sought acclaim for his good deeds, his daughter said.
He recently received a thank-you note from a young woman he had helped all the way through college. She wrote that if he hadn’t been in her life, she wouldn’t have been able to achieve what she had.
“He wasn’t the guy who was raising his hand in church. He wasn’t on the board of elders. He just did what Jesus told us all to do,” Stine said. “He was a mentor. There are no buildings named after him or streets named after him. He just did it.”
A longtime business associate wrote this to the family after learning of Mr. DeShields’ death: “Clyde was one of the most honest and kind individuals I have ever known. It was truly my pleasure to have known him so many years. He was always a man of his word.”
He is survived by his wife; sons David (Janice) DeShields, Daniel (Maryann) DeShields and Steven (Cynthia) DeShields; daughter Debbie (Jim) Stine; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services were July 26 at Glick Family Funeral Home, with burial at Boca Raton Cemetery. Donations in Mr. DeShields’ memory can be sent to St. Paul Lutheran Church and School, scholarship fund, 701 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486, or Eagle Mount, 6901 Goldenstein Lane, Bozeman, MT 59715.
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