Yorkman, Clifton "Chip" Edward (Age 60) of Clinton, Maryland

Clifton "Chip" Edward Yorkman was born on November 17, 1960, in Bethesda, Maryland. He was the only child of the late Clifton "Pete" Edward Yorkman and the late Esther Rosalee Ferrell Yorkman of Clinton, Maryland. He transitioned on October 18, 2021, in Washington, DC after a valiant battle with cancer. He leaves to mourn his two adult children, Philip Edward Yorkman and Candace Eirene Yorkman; his beloved companion, Anita Cordova; his former wife and mother of his children, Patricia Thomas; two remaining aunts on his mother's side, Lucy Archer and Barbara Ferrell; one uncle, Charles Yorkman on his father's side and two cousins who his parents raised with him as brothers, Marion Solomon and Keith Solomon. He was lovingly supported throughout his illness by several close cousins including Reggie Black, Bonnie Greene, Fara Guest, Tracy Scott, Kay Spruill, and Marquetta Yorkman as well as close friends including Larry Smith, TC Middleton, Davy Monroe, Eric Clatterbuck and Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Cherry of Jacksonville, NC. He leaves behind a host of cousins, friends, and associates.

Chip began his education at the elementary school on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA. When his parents moved to Washington, DC, he attended Stanton Elementary School in Southeast, DC. Later, when his parents moved to Clinton, MD, he attended Gwynn Park Junior High and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in 1979. Chip completed his education in 2005, receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Networking from Strayer University.

Chip was a life-long member of Grace United Methodist Church, giving his life to Christ in 1978. Church fellowship was a major aspect of his life. Thus, he served at Grace throughout his lifetime in a variety of ministries. As a teenager, Chip was a member of the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) and Youth Choir. After returning home from the military, Chip led the Young Adult Ministry and Choir. He served on the Administrative Council and was a member of the Finance Committee, the Men's Ministry, the Veterans' Ministry, the Outreach Ministry for the Sick and Shut-in, and the Alzheimer's Ministry, as their designated photographer. He also sang on the Gospel and Men's Choirs. He attended Bible Study and taught Sunday School for several years. At various points of time, he served as the church photographer and eventually he served as the church historian. He also volunteered annually for the Equestrian Ministry. Chip married Patricia Thomas in 1986, whom he had met at Grace in 1977. From this union, their beautiful children were born. They were married for 26 years.

Beginning in his youth, Chip had a profound interest in serving in the US military. As a teenager, he was a member of the US Navy League Cadet Corps and US Naval Sea Cadet Corps at the Washington Navy Yard. These youth programs primed him for military service. Chip enlisted in the United States Navy in 1981, where he served as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT), reaching the rank of Petty Officer (3 ^rd Class) while on active duty. He was stationed out of Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida and aboard the aircraft carrier, USS America (CV 66). Chip was recognized for his military service and received a number of awards including the Battle Efficiency and the Sea Service ribbons as well as the Navy Expeditionary Medal. He was honorably discharged from active duty in 1984, when he entered the Naval Reserve.

Following active duty, Chip enjoyed an extensive career in Information Technology and Information Security. He worked for several private companies as a U.S. Government Contractor and supported various agencies such as the US Departments of Defense, State, and Transportation. Companies he worked for were Storage Technologies, Wang Laboratories, EDS, Hewlett Packard, and he was a Personal Service Contractor (PSC) with the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations at the State Department. Later in his career, Chip served as a Librarian and Substitute Teacher with Prince George's County Public Schools, primarily at Doswell-Brooks and Magnolia Elementary Schools.

Chip was a world traveler from the time of his military service, hailing ports including St Thomas, VI; Portsmouth, England; Edinburg, Scotland; Mombasa, Kenya; as well as ports in Sri Lanka and Spain. While aboard the USS America, Chip crossed the Equator and the Suez Canal. He continued his world travels while in the private sector, traveling to Italy, Portugal, the Azores, and numerous other countries.

Family was extremely important to Chip. He was a devoted son and father, who loved his family, known by many as the family genealogist for both the Ferrell and Yorkman sides of his family. He became interested in genealogy as a result of his world travels while in the military. He began extensively researching his family tree in 1987 and eventually discovered ancestry going back to the early 1800's. Chip was once a member of the Afro-American Genealogical Society (DC Chapter) and the Talbot Historical Society of Easton, Maryland from which he learned techniques for researching families of former slaves prior to the development of tools such as the internet and Ancestry.com. He routinely visited and interviewed elderly relatives; tiptoed through historically Black and Civil War graveyards; sifted through historical records at numerous libraries and archives throughout Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia; gathered family pictures; captured oral family histories and extensively mapped his family tree on both sides beginning in the early 1990's. His passion was to continually discover new relatives of the past and present in order to connect his family with their roots, which he did right up to the end of his life. When married, he and Pat held large family reunions in their backyard in Fort Washington, Maryland for several years.

Chip had a very full life and several interests throughout his lifetime. His hobbies included golfing, fishing, cultivating salt-water aquariums and fish, photography, mentoring youth, and enjoying long car rides as well as conversing over a meal of salmon cakes. He also enjoyed listening to jazz, gospel, and the Blues. Chip was loved by many. He was very popular and jovial -- the life of the party among family, friends, coworkers, and people from all walks of life, including those at church, as well as those on the golf course. No matter what he was going through, he was always available to support his family and friends.

"Stay tight and fly right," Clifton "Chip" Yorkman

Final Celebration of Life-Chip E. Yorkman - Animoto

His viewing will be held from 9:30am until time of service 10:30am on Saturday, October 30, 2021, Grace United Methodist Church, 11700 Old Fort Road, Fort Washington, Maryland 20744.

Chip's final resting place will be at the historical Lincoln Cemetery that is adjacent to the Mt. Olive Baptist and Grace Annex United Methodist Churches in Loudoun County, Virginia, where several generations of the Ferrell Family lay at rest. The cemetery is located at 37762 Cooksville Road, Purcellville, VA.

Click on the link below to view the Services.

https://youtu.be/J9I1vNpwyLo