Myrna L. (Hillburn) Clifford, 67, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, after a battle with liver cancer.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home in Warrensburg, Missouri, with visitation services beginning at 1 p.m.
Pallbearers will be Dennis Rich, Brian Chamberlin, John West, Nate Clifford, John Gareth West and Dustin Elias.
Interment will follow at Sunset Hill Cemetery.
Myrna was born in Borger, Texas, the eldest daughter of Thell Lee and Charlotte Hensley Hillburn.
She graduated from high school in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and married James W. Clifford of Copan, Oklahoma, in 1966. Their marriage served as the exemplar for many and lasted until Jim’s untimely death in 2011. Since 1988, Myrna and Jim resided on the family farm outside Warrensburg where Myrna taught 4-H, raised her family and welcomed so many to her table. Myrna was an accomplished woman, having done everything from phone switchboard operator to writing textbooks, and spent the last 15 years of her professional life managing commercial construction site offices across the country. With her husband, Jim, her two children, Amber and Austin, and her extensive family, Myrna traveled the country and lived life with great abandon. She was a lover of good music, local culture, beaches and time spent with family. Myrna was a brilliant writer of prose and poetry, a skilled 4-H and Girl Scout leader, and a political activist for her entire adult life. Myrna’s pride and joy was her family, and that was a word she extended to dozens of her “kids” who spent time at the family farm and sought her advice, her wisdom, and her open arms. She will be deeply missed.
Myrna leaves behind daughter, Amber, and her spouse, Tara; daughter-in-law, Rachel Clifford, and grandson, Nate Clifford; brother, Richard Hillburn, and his family; sisters, Vicky Elias and Kelly Hillburn and their families; sister-in-law, Sue Robbins, and brother-in-law, Terry Clifford, and their families; and a close-knit community of friends, relatives, and “kids.”
Myrna was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Jim, and son, Austin.
 
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Vietnam Veterans of America Agent Orange Fund and may be left in care of the funeral home.