It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Clive Richard Markey on June 12, 2025.
Clive’s story begins on July 27, 1947 in Leamington Spa, England, where he was born to Richard and Lucy Markey.
Most of Clive’s beloved childhood memories were ones spent on the Warwickshire canals with his beloved Granny, Grandad, and endless aunts, uncles cousins, and two sisters Sheila and Lucy.
Leaving school at 15, Clive became a cabinet maker in his hometown, where he found his true love for antiques.
The next chapter of his life brought an incredible opportunity to travel to Los Angeles in his early 20s, and from the moment he stepped off the Greyhound bus, he knew he had found home.
He returned to England where he met his wife Sheila, and they were married in 1977. Together they moved to Montecito, with the few dollars in their pocket, a shipping container full of antiques on its way, and the dream of the American Dream.
Very shortly after arriving here they welcomed their son Thomas, and a few years later, their daughter Holly.
They opened their first antiques shop Clive & Sheila Markey Antiques on Brinkerhoff before settling into their showroom on Haley Street in Santa Barbara. And that is where the Pine Trader was born.
Over the course of 50 years, Clive went back and forth to England and Ireland every few month buying antiques, filling shipping containers, and selling each treasured pieces to all the incredible customers and friends over the decades.
Antiques were at the core of Clive, and he lived the most enriching, adventurous, passion-filled life doing what he loved, with the people he loved, every single day.
His love and legacy will live on in every piece of furniture he sold, every person he met along his way, and every story he ever told … and he was an incredible storyteller.
He will be deeply missed, forever.
He is survived by his wife Sheila; children Thomas and Holly; and grandson Declan.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 30 at St Marks in the Valley Chruch in Los Olivos.
Donations can be made to the Vikings of Solvang where Clive became a member after moving up to the Santa Ynez Valley.