Clinton C. Moore Jr. died quietly on Nov. 22 at his home in Edgartown after a long illness. He was 85.

He was born on August 12, 1923 and raised in Ashland, Ky. He was the son of Clinton Moore and Mary (Davisson) Moore and the brother of Mary Lou (Moore) Putnam. His wife, Emily (Cook) Moore survives him.

Clint entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1941. His education was interrupted by World War II when he entered the Army Air Corps. He returned after the war to receive his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1947 and was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

During World War II he was a B-17 ball turret gunner. He flew missions over Germany from England and participated in battles in Northern France, the Ardennes and the Rhineland. He was shot down over Germany on New Year’s Eve in 1944 and was a prisoner of war for six months until the end of the war in June of 1945. He was discharged from the Army Air Corps as a staff sergeant from the 366th Bomb Squadron and received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the battles.

In 1948 he married Emily Cook of Wellesley and enjoyed 60 years of marriage and three children.

He was a mechanical engineer for General Electric’s gas turbine division for 30 years and spent the last decade of his career traveling to England, Italy and Norway for special projects. He was the sole inventor on a U.S. patent for a new mechanical seal for an axial flow compressor.

Clinton and Emily retired to the Vineyard in 1980. He especially loved the summers when his family would come to visit. He was an avid carpenter and gardener and of course, loved anything mechanical. He worked on cars, lawn mowers and anything with an engine.

He was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife Emily; his daughter, Sarah Davisson Moore of West Tisbury; two sons, David Dudley Moore and his wife, Judy Lin of Houston, Tex., and Paul Clark Moore and his wife, Brenda Seeley Moore of Chicago; and six grandchildren, Lauren DiGiulio of New York city, Michael DiGiulio of San Francisco, Shannon and David Moore of Chicago, Brian Moore of Tampa and Alexander Lin-Moore of Middlebury, Vt. He was predeceased by his sister Mary Lou Putnam in 2006.

The funeral service was private.

Donations may be made in his memory to the V.F.W. Post 9261, PO Box 1437, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or the American Legion Post 186, Katama Road, Edgartown, MA 02539.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.