Learning, Earning, Returning: Marv Clott ’73 Gives Back

Marv Clott ’73, arrived in Annapolis in 1969, taking his first plane ride from his hometown of Minot, North Dakota. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury in his plebe year wrestling class and the resulting surgery youngster year cut short his Navy aspirations.

Not interested in the Supply Corps, the most likely service community available to him, Clott left the Academy and made plans to resume his college career elsewhere. A family friend in the U.S. Senate set him up with a position as an elevator operator in the Senate office building in D.C. There, Clott learned most of the other operators were balancing their jobs with college classes at the nearby universities. Clott traveled to the University of Maryland admissions office in July of 1971, insisted on waiting to speak with the Dean of Admissions, and talked his way into the semester beginning the next month.

“It taught me persistence,” he said.

Clott finished his undergraduate degree at Maryland and completed an MBA at American University, embarking on a career in sales and sales management. But he never forgot the time he spent at the Academy.

“The Naval Academy gave me the foundation, the tools and the drive to be successful in my sales career,” he said. “The two years I spent there were the two most important formative years of my adulthood.” He remains close friends with his classmates, attending many Homecomings and reunions and more than 20 Army-Navy games.

Now retired from his sales career, with his children and stepchildren—including a West Point grad—independent and thriving and buoyed by successful investments in real estate, he and his wife, Darryle, are giving to the Academy both now and in the future. Recently they documented their estate gift so it can be counted for Marv’s 50th reunion project and in Called to Serve, Daring to Lead: The Naval Academy Campaign.

“The Naval Academy isn’t funded completely by the government,” Clott said. “There are many areas and needs that will not be satisfied if people aren’t willing to share and give back.”

Darryle Clott, whose son Hans graduated with the West Point Class of 1995, shares his commitment. “For whom much is given, much is required. I loved West Point, and now I love Navy,” she said.

Extend Your Commitment

Like the Clotts, you, too, can strengthen your connection to the Naval Academy through a gift in your will or other estate plan. Contact Patti Bender by Email or call 410-295-4187 to learn about your giving options.