Eldon "Salty" Solberg

Eldon Cleo (Salty) Solberg went to his eternal place of heavenly rest on September 30, 2023 at the age of 96.   Salty was born in Bosque County, Texas to Clarice Emilie Aars Solberg and Archie Clinton Solberg.   After his parents divorced in 1935, Salty, his mother and brother, Elwood, lived with his grandparents, Josephine and Ole Solberg, Jr. on the Solberg family farm where he learned the strong work ethic which would carry him through his career as a small business owner.  He attended Clifton schools and Clifton Junior College until he enlisted in the Navy where he served from March of 1945 to December of 1946 as a Hospitalist First Class.  He then continued his education for another year at Clifton Junior College before leaving for Southwest Texas State in San Marcos.  In 1953, he transferred to The University of Texas in Austin where he graduated with a B.B.A. while working his way through school.   On April 5th, 1958, he married Peggy Jones in Goldthwaite, Texas.   Salty and Peggy were blessed with three daughters, Lisa, Susan, and Karla.

Salty started his career at Schnee Morehead, an Irving engineering firm which manufactured adhesives and sealants.  After a few years with Schnee, he set out to fulfill a dream of being his own boss.   Salty went on to own several businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area including a Fort  Worth restaurant, a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise, a dry cleaning business, and a sub sandwich/ice cream shop near SMU’s campus.

Salty loved the outdoors, spending summers after retirement working at Yellowstone National Park.

He also enjoyed taking road trips on his prized Harley Davidson to Colorado with his buddy, Woody.  He had an interest in anything related to airplanes and enjoyed building models, including one big enough that it had to be assembled in his backyard.  When the girls were young, Salty would drive them to Bachman Lake in Dallas to watch the planes take off and land at Love Field.  Never one to “waste” his money on something new, he could “fix” anything with a needle and thread or a good piece of duck tape.  In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey as well as watching U.T. football while sipping on a cold one. John Wayne and his westerns were such a favorite that Salty kept a life-sized cardboard likeness of Mr. Wayne in his home which startled many a visitor upon coming through the front door!

Salty is survived by his three daughters Lisa (Matt), Susan, Karla (Ralph), two granddaughters, Clara Dow and Emily Dow, several cousins, and numerous nieces and nephews.  He is predeceased by his mother and father as well as his step father, Harold Schultz, and his brother Elwood.  The family would like to thank all the wonderful friends he made while living in the Lutheran Sunset Ministries Community as well as the staff who helped him as his health declined during the last three years.

A celebration of Salty’s life will be held Tuesday, October 24th at 10:30 at First Presbyterian Church in Clifton with Pastor Clint Schofield officiating.  In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a tree or donating to one of his favorite philanthropies, Disabled American Veterans, https://www.dav.org/