Daniel Ronald Clough, Sr. was born in Douglas, Georgia to his parents, Dan Gaskin Clough and Bessie Johnson Clough, and was raised in a loving and supportive family and community environment. His parents later moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee where he graduated from high school. He then attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he was educated to think creatively and independently and where he met and married his beautiful wife, Anne Cottrell Clough at West End Methodist Church.
Daniel R. Clough was employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for approximately 35 years and was privileged to work with highly intelligent and creative professionals on the Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs. He worked as a contracts’ manager on the J-2 engine and Space Shuttle Main Engine projects and later managed the RL-10 engine resident project office at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in West Palm Beach, Florida. He subsequently worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the Senior Executive Service as Director of Advanced Procurement Planning and was privileged to be a member of the Synthesis Group in the development of plans for a manned Lunar/Mars program. He was the recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal. Following his retirement from NASA he was employed by American Pacific Corporation in Las Vegas, Nevada as Director of Business Development where he established and managed a joint research program between that corporation and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Active throughout the years in youth sports, he coached baseball and ice hockey in its early years in Huntsville. He served for a time as president of the Huntsville Amateur Hockey Association and as director of the International Silver Stick Hockey Program in Huntsville during its early development. His hobbies included work in landscaping/gardening with specialties in Japanese Maples and creative stonework (retaining walls, bridges and arches) as well as other permanent structures in the garden environment. He was an active bicycle rider throughout his lifetime. He was also a longtime member of the First United Methodist Church in Huntsville.
Survivors include his wife, Anne Cottrell Clough, to whom he was married for 67 years; sons, Daniel R. Clough, Jr. (Becky) of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Mark A. Clough (Kathy) of White House, Tennessee; daughter, Rachel Clough Heeschen (Matthew) of Huntsville, Alabama; five grandchildren, Michelle, Erin, Maxwell, Tim, and Jonah; and five great-grandchildren, Lily, Olivia, Delilah, Finnick, and Desmond. Survivors also include his sister, Phyllis Clough Davis of Lakeland, Florida, Dr. G. Wayne Clough of Big Canoe, Georgia, and their families.
Visitation will be from 10:00 -11:00 am on Friday, July 17, 2026, at First United Methodist Church. The funeral service will follow at 11:00 am Friday, July 17, 2026, at First United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Faith Property Endowment Fund at First United Methodist Church (120 Greene Street, Huntsville, Al. 35801) or a charity of your choosing.
