Peter Kipp Clough, 84, Loved Water and Sailing

Peter Kipp Clough died unexpectedly early Tuesday morning, Nov. 7. Born in Englewood, N.J. in 1922, he was the son of Clarance Ambrose and Ethel Kipp Clough. He attended the Englewood School for boys before going to Kent School in the class of 1941 where he was stroke on the crew.

Mr. Clough's grandparents had a cottage before he was born, which is still there, on the back of a lot of Cottage street and at one point his grandfather was commodore of the Edgartown Yacht Club. So he grew up summering in Edgartown and during his school years taught sailing at the yacht club.

From October 1942 until May of 1946 he was in the United States Coast Guard which was during the years of the second World War. He had entered the class of 1945 at Cornell University and attended for only two years. Mr. Clough then joined the firm of Birt Whistle and Livingston in Englewood as a real estate agent. He became a partner some years later.

In 1952 he married Shirley Martin Petigrue from Tenefly, N.J., and when he retired from the firm the couple moved year-round into the Cottage street house. Mrs. Clough died in July of 1995.

Mr. Clough loved the water and so taught sailing for the members of the Boys' and Girls' Club, which turned into Sail Martha's Vineyard. He raced a Wood Pussy, My Sin, for many years. And while still in New Jersey gave his wife a Boston Whaler for Christmas, which was really for him, so she named it Sneaky Pete. With the availability of the Whaler to get him out to it Mr. Clough later bought a small sloop which he named Glide.

When not on the water Mr. Clough was a senior real estate appraiser on the board of assessors in Edgartown and on the finance committee of the Federated Church for many years.

He was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club, the Edgartown Reading Room, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Pink Squid Yacht Club and the Portuguese American Club.

He will be remembered by many for the years he put on his sailor's uniform and marched in Edgartown's Fourth of July parade. During those years he did put on weight, and the uniform was let out a bit, but he wore it as late as last summer, when he rode, not walked, the parade route.

Around 1989 he and Mrs. Clough got the idea of getting persons with winter privileges at the yacht club to bring cans of soup which were mixed together and served with French bread. This was officially named in his honor, the Fleet Captain's Gam. It is still held on Fridays in winter.

Mr. Clough loved sports, particularly the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Bruins and the Martha's Vineyard hockey, football and basketball teams. Which he and his good friend Donald MacRae helped to sponsor. He was generous, and was particularly interested in helping Cheers for Children in Boston.

In later years Mr. Clough took to spending time in Island bars watching sports on television and talking to other patrons. He did this so often that the chairs he sat in in both the Newes from America and the Edgartown Yacht Club have brass plaques with his name.

A service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. in the Federated Church in Edgartown officiated by the Rev. John D. Schule and the Rev. Gerry Fritz.

Mr. Clough is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Karen Clough Brussard, a sister, Mrs. Sally Banker and two grandchildren, Sarah Jean and Stephen John Brussard.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any Island charity.

"Raise a cup of peppermint schnapps to Dad."