Surrounded by his loving family, Donald Clemens 89,
peacefully passed from this life on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Don was born
in Dover, Ohio, the son of John and Ruth Faull Clemens. He was preceded in
death by three brothers, Robert Eugene, John (Jack) Richard and Earl Leroy and
a sister Lois Emily DeStephani (Ron). He is survived by his wife of 68 years,
Martha K. Lemmon Clemens (Kay) and five children. Richard Clemens (Judi), Nancy
Leggett -Frazier (Joe), Barbara Morehead (Eddie), Dr. Becky Bagley (Perry) and
Dr. Peggy Trent (Alan). He is also
survived by 14 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and nieces and
nephews. He is also survived by a brother, David Clemens (Marlene) of New
Philadelphia, Ohio.
Don graduated from Dover High School in the Vocational
Machine Program. He worked as a machinist at the Greer Steel Company in Dover
for 10 years.
In 1950 he married Martha (Kay) Lemmon and built a home on
Tremont Street where they lived until 1957 when the family moved to Lakeland,
Florida, (Florida Southern College) and Gainesville (University of Florida) where Don earned his
PhD in Chemistry. The family then moved to Greenville, N.C. where Don taught
chemistry at East Carolina University for the next 30 years. After retiring,
Don and Kay moved to Floyd, Virginia where they spent many years in their
mountain retirement home.
Don touched many lives by his Christian love of family. He
was very close to his wife, children, and grandchildren. He and Kay were role
models for three generations of family.
Always active in the United Methodist Church, Don taught
Sunday School for many years, served on various boards and was involved in work
with the youth groups of the church as well as the Boy Scouts of America. After
retirement, Don became a Ham Radio operator and made several mission trips to
Dominica, a tiny island in the Caribbean, to help establish a network of
emergency ham radio stations to increase communications in times of
disaster.
A memorial service will be held at Floyd United Methodist
Church in Floyd, Virginia with Pastor Steve Johnson officiating. Visitation will be Saturday, November 17, 2018 from
1:00 until 3:00 PM at the church. The memorial service will be held immediately
after the visitation.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to Floyd
United Methodist Church or the Donald F. Clemens Chemistry Scholarship fund at
East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.
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