(ADDED OCTOBER 27: Memorial-service information)
Rodger E. Clement is being remembered by family and friends, including friend Marty Kiley, who wrote this remembrance:
This is my sweet friend, Rodger E. Clement. He died in his home October 17th. I was fortunate enough to have met him in Grief Group after his lovely wife, Mary, passed on and my husband decided to end our 45-year marriage.
He was in the Navy, worked at Boeing, was a devout Catholic and a very fine man. He was also in the Knights of Columbus. More than that he was my dear, dear friend. We went on cruises together and had a fabulous time in New York last year.
What I will miss the most about Rodger are the texts he sent me each and every morning laying out his day. I did the same, and in fact, he was the only person who knew where I was at all times. At night we exchanged texts again talking about how our day had gone. It was something special I could always count on without a missed text in all the years I knew him, which were not enough. Through his sorrow, he sang silly songs to me and told me dumb jokes. He held my hand when I needed it and we spent many hours together just talking.
He was a master wood turner but would never admit the total beauty of his work. Instead of selling his works of art, he would carefully stack them up one by one on a bookshelf in the basement. He spent a great deal of his talent contributing to his church by making a huge cross for the gym, benches, and things for the inside of the church as well. His beautiful art is scattered all over Our Lady of Guadalupe.
He and Mary were passionate about Square Dancing. He called the dances and she made the beautiful clothes. He had trouble adjusting to food after she died of breast cancer. She was a great cook and he struggled to eat much after she was gone. He always had his car radio tuned to the Fifties station. If you asked him how he was he would say he was full of the three V’s … Vigor, Vim, and Vitality. Sometimes he would just say ornery and laugh and give me a sweet smile and a little kiss.
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He loved his home, his view of the sound, morning coffee with friends, time with his friend, Kathy and her dog, Lance. He was most proud of his family. His daughter, Diane, who only lived a Ferry Boat ride away and his son Mike, who lived in California. He knew every single one of his neighbors and loved having lunch at the Pub once or twice a week. He was a big Outlander Fan and read all the books before starting to watch the series with Kathy. He also was a huge AVATAR fan! He owned the DVD and watched it several times. He was a perfect gentleman at all times and told me more than once that his father told him to NEVER, EVER disrespect a woman.Goodbye, my sweet friend, I will always, always miss you. You will be forever on my mind and in my heart. Tell Mary I said hello. She’s waited long enough for you. I love you, Rodger.
ADDED SATURDAY: Marty says Mr. Clement’s memorial service will be at Saint Elizabeth’s Church, 1005 SW 152nd Street in Burien, November 17 at 10 am. Please contact her for food head count:
martysuzannekiley3108 (at) comcast (dot) net
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
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