To view the funeral service on Saturday, January 15, 2022, at 11:00amEST, please use the following link:

http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/66910

On Saturday, January 1 ^st , 2022, Ella Louise Barclift bid goodbye to this world at the age of 91. She was born to the late Ora Broussard (nee Scott) and Elvin Green in Beaumont, TX on December 19, 1930.  An only child Ella, known to her friends as "Lou," was raised in nearby Lake Charles, LA, where she married her husband, the late Adolph "Pete" Taliferro Barclift, on June 7, 1955.  After numerous military moves around the country and overseas in England with her growing family as an Air Force spouse, she settled in Rantoul, Illinois.  In a modest one bathroom home, the first and only house she ever owned, she raised her four sons and two daughters.

While in Rantoul, she earned her high school certificate and took college courses at the local community college.  Lou supported her family as a housekeeper working for the government on Chanute Air Force Base, rising to the supervisor level, earning recognition for her work helping thousands of young servicemembers going through technical training while stationed at the base. Rantoul is where she met her lifelong friends – Margarette Bobo, Ruby Grant, Jo Young, and Millie Davis.  During these years, she honed her skills as a competitive pinochle and bid whist card player.  Later in life, she moved to Dover, DE, where she picked up her love for the slot machines at the local casinos, a hobby she eagerly shared with her children and grandchildren, who would often visit and drop her a dollar (or $20) to spend on the machines. "Grandma Lou," as she was most often referred to now, never let you know if she won or lost, only giving the slyest of smiles when you asked.

Grandma Lou loved to cook: spaghetti, gumbo, and salmon cakes. She occasionally enjoyed a cold Coors Light, and her sweet tooth was legendary.  Her final move took her to Norfolk, VA.  There she could be found holding court and playing her favorite card game of Quiddler with her family during their frequent visits, which she eagerly awaited and enjoyed immensely. She loved shopping, often leaving with a full cart of pants, bath mats, black handbags, and shirts. Grandma Lou's status as a snazzy dresser is matched by her love for getting her hair and nails done and spritzing on her "smell good" before presenting herself to others.  She had a mean side-eye and a hearty laugh if you got her going. Ella Louise Barclift personified class and dignity throughout her life.  She is the anchor and strength of the four generations of family members she leaves behind.  Full of love and laughter, we will never forget her.  Stories about the extraordinary life she lived will continue to be shared by all that knew her.

Ella Louise Barclift was preceded in death and will be greeted in the next life by her parents, Aunt Vickie, Uncle Alex, her husband Pete, and beloved son Wayne. She is survived by her five children and their spouses (Vickie Lynn (Lawrence) Barclift, Adolph Taliferro Barclift Jr., Wayne's wife Marion (Calhoun) Barclift,  Michael Ray Barclift and his wife Jane (Ward) Barclift, Jeannie Marie (Thomas) Barclift, and David Lee Barclift), nine grandchildren and their spouses (Lisa Lawrence, Janelle Lawrence, and her husband Haley Chitty, Ramone Thomas, and his wife Sumer Thomas, Michael Barclift, Cameron Barclift, Kieran Thomas, Ashley Barclift, Alexis Barclift, and Aiden Barclift), four great-grandchildren (Jalynn, Monie Jr., Cameron, Raymond, Zora) and three great-great-grandchildren (Emerson, Evelyn, and Del).

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, January 15, 2022, at Riddick Funeral Service Chapel, 1225 Norview Avenue Norfolk, VA 23513.  A private burial will follow on Friday, January 21, 2022, at Sharon Hills Memorial Park in Dover, DE.  Condolences may be registered at www.riddickfuneralservices.com .  The family acknowledges the work of countless professionals, practitioners, and care providers at Eastern Virginia Medical School Department of Internal Medicine, Seniorcorp, and Sentara Hospice who supported us over the years and is grateful to everyone who rendered services in any way.