La Grande, Union County, Oregon
The funeral for Gerald Raymond Clemens will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday at O’Hair and Riggs Funeral Chapel, Klamath Falls. The Rev. Robert L. Larson of Ascension Lutheran Church will officiate. Internment will be in Klamath Memorial Park.
Mr. Clemens, 87, of Medford, died Dec. 7, 2001, at Rogue Valley Manor in Medford.
He was born Nov. 13, 1914, in Lostine, the son of Emmett H. and Sadie Jane (Hammack) Clemens. He graduated from Helix High School in 1932. His family moved to Merrill in 1933, and he worked at Ewauna Box Company until 1933. He attended what is now Southern Oregon University from 1933 to 1935. He later received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Oregon in Eugene.
On May 25, 1941, in Spokane, Wash., he married Henrietta Ekern, who preceded him in death. Mr. Clemens taught at Klamath Falls elementary schools from 1935 until his retirement in 1974. During his tenure he served as principal at Pelican, Conger, Roosevelt and Fairview Schools. He moved to the Rogue Valley Manor in 1987.
He served in the U.S. Army 96th Infantry Division during World War II and participated in the invasion of Leyte and Okinawa. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
Mr. Clemens was a lifetime member of the Klamath Falls Elks, Lodge No. 1247. He was also a member of the Oregon Education Association, the National Education Association and Ascension Lutheran Church. He was an avid supporter of University of Oregon sports. He had a cabin at Union Creek where he enjoyed snow shoeing in the winter and relaxing, reading and walking in the summer. Survivors include three nieces, Patricia Denny, Medford, Mary Baldwin, Citrus Heights, Calif., and Geraldine Kaser, Hillsboro; and a nephew, Charles Miles, Auburn, Calif. He was preceded in death by a sister, Pauline Mile.
Memorial contributions may be made to Ascension Lutheran Church Memorial fund, 2617 Barnett Road, Medford, OR 97504, or Rogue Valley Manor Assistance Program, 1200 Mira Mar, Medford, OR 97504.
Source: Mail Tribune Medford, Oregon December 15, 2001