Ray & Jacque Clift

by Jackie Clift

Raymond S. Clift, Jr. was born in Tupelo, MS, on February 12, 1940, to Raymond S. Clift and Mittie Lou Boggan Clift. He attended public schools and graduated from Tupelo High School. He had one older sister Mary Helen Clift Hitt.  Raymond graduated from the University of Mississippi and from the University of Memphis Law School. He worked as a public defender and then as a district attorney for Shelby County. Then Raymond went into private practice.

He and his family moved to Germantown in 1975, and he became president of the Farmington Homeowners Association. Raymond served two years as a Germantown alderman. In 1982, Raymond was appointed municipal judge of Germantown and has been re-elected ever since then. He is a “people person” and enjoys visiting with everyone.

Raymond is married to Jacqueline Clift who was born in Dyersburg, TN on January 27, 1944, to Jack Brothers and his wife Louse Allen Brothers. They farmed in the community of Bonicord. Kay was Jackie’s older sister, and the girls grew up on the family farm and were active in 4-H club work. Jackie graduated from Dyersburg High School as valedictorian and from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in German and Spanish literature. She taught school in the Catholic school system in Memphis. In 1977 Jackie obtained her real estate license. She worked as an agent for forty years and was a lifetime member of the Memphis Board of Realtors Multi-Million Dollar Club. She also worked for the Shelby County Board of Equalization as a Hearing Officer from 2000-2010.

Mrs. Clift was a member of the Germantown Festival Board in the 1970s. She served on the Board of the Germantown Arts Alliance, the Beautification Commission, the Library Commission, and the Historic Commission. She is a member of the Suburban Garden Club of Germantown and served as its president and as president of the Memphis and Shelby County Council of Garden Clubs. She also served as the Civic Chair of the Suburban Garden Club of Germantown to help plant a “Meditation Garden “on the north side of the city’s Municipal Library, to add an iris garden and a daylily garden on the west side, and a rain garden on the east side of the library in partnership with the city.

Other civic projects include planting cherry trees along Poplar Pike and daffodils and tulips along Germantown Road from the train tracks to Poplar Pike as well as in the park by the Depot and the Parks and Recreation Building. The club maintains the shrubs and perennials in the entry bed for Melanie Smith Lane. Mrs. Clift also led the garden club’s efforts to form a 501(c)-3 organization to create a historical museum for the city in 2008. There are historical exhibits at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, at the Bobby Lanier Farm Park, and at city buildings and grocery stores. Currently, an upcoming website is our attempt to present a present-day version of a historical museum.

Mr. and Mrs. Clift are the proud parents of two children: Rhea Louise Clift and Raymond Spencer Clift III, who are both practicing attorneys in the Memphis area. The Clift family attends St. George’s Episcopal Church.