Clyde L. Dyer was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania in 1898. As did many others during the early 20th century, he left school in 6th grade to provide an additonal income to his family. He held many jobs during his young adulthood. When he became an accountant, he worked for several years with Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation. For this job, he relocated to various cities throughout the United States and Canada.

Eventually he resided in Houston in 1946. He met and married his wife, Eleanor Lewis Dyer, the prior year while while they were both employed to work on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. To the relief of the couple, Mr. Dyer's next assignment was to work as an accountant for the proposed Shamrock Hotel in Houston. This post is reported by his daughter to have been a much cherished position, and Mr. Dyer and his wife collected many items commemorating Mr. Glenn McCarthy and the Hotel. The Dyers took part in employee barbeques hosted by Mr. McCarthy (the family), chasing celebrities Andy Devine and Robert Stack through the hotel to get their autograph (Mrs. Dyer), and taking part in the studio audience of the airing of The Breakfast Club radio show from the Shamrock Hotel (Mrs. Dyer).

Daughter, Nancy (Dyer) Kinsey has noted that the family was saddened when they had to leave Houston and always spoke of returning to live there permanently.