David Robert Clements
David
Robert Clements, 87, loving husband of Ursula A. (Della Rodolfa) Clements,
died Saturday, October 24, 2020 in his Turkey Shore Road, Ipswich home
following a brief illness.
David was born August 27, 1933 in Browns’ Square
in Ipswich. He
was the fifth of seven children born at home to the late Joseph A. and
Edith M. (Robicheau) Clements.
A true Ipswich native, he dedicated his life to
his family and community. David attended Ipswich Public Schools,
graduating with the class of 1952; he then went on to Beverly Trade
School, where he honed his skills as a First-Class Tool & Die Machinist.
Beginning his career at the United Shoe and completing it at Beverly
Pattern in Beverly, from which he retired in 1995, freeing him to pursue
his true passion of service to his community.
Throughout his
life, Dave was fondly known as “Cy” to his friends and family. He
was everyone’s go-to guy, the one who was always there for you; no ask was
too big, and no favor was too small for Dave to drop what he was doing to
help out.
Dave’s love of community was evident in his role as a Call Fireman and
later the Auxiliary Police, where he was awarded the rank of Captain.
Having fully embraced the motto of
protect and serve, Dave later stepped
into the role of Director of Civil Defense for the Town of Ipswich.
Dave took on this nascent program; when faced with the Blizzard of 1978,
he mobilized the town’s response. After years of heading up
Emergency Management in Ipswich, Dave joined the MA-TF1 in Beverly, a
division of FEMA. It was with his FEMA family that Dave continued
his service to community and country as a First Responder on 911. At
68, Dave was the oldest member of FEMA working search and rescue for two
weeks at the World Trade Center.
Dave’s love of community was surpassed only by his love of family. A
true patriarch, he stepped in as head of the family when his Father died
at an early age, becoming the surrogate father and mentor to his five
sisters, brother, mother, and seventeen nieces and nephews. As a
Father, he was the loving disciplinarian who instilled a sense of
responsibility, obligation, and accountability. He approached life
with a pragmatism and level of organization that was both impressive and
comedic. He was a proud grandfather who would bend strangers’ ears
with his tales of his six grand-children’s’ accomplishments.
In
addition to his loving wife Ursula of sixty years, the girl he married
while waiting for a bus in NYC, he is survived by a son, Joseph P.
Clements and his wife Veronica of Hopkinton; a daughter, Janice
Clements-Skelton and her husband William Skelton of Ipswich; six
grandchildren, Maxwell Clements of Boston, Alexander Clements of
Hopkinton, Margaret Clements of Hopkinton, Emily Skelton of Medford,
Abigail Skelton of Boston and Wm. Vincent Skelton of Ipswich. He is also
survived by two sisters, Doris (Lemieux) Banks and her husband Earle of
Ipswich, Rosemary Whynott of Gloucester; two sister-in-laws, Marie Gionni
and Maureen Della Rodolfa both of NJ; his treasured cousin, Lester
Mountain of Ft. Myers, FL/Nova Scotia; his devoted K-9 companions, Chloe
Bell and Gracie and many nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his
brother Roland Clements formerly of Ipswich, and his sisters, Ruth Rawson
formerly of Rowley, Lorraine M. Clements formerly of Ipswich and Charlotte
Durkee formerly of Georgetown.
His funeral service will be held 11 am Friday, October 30 graveside in the
Cowles Memorial Cemetery, Town Farm Road, Ipswich. Family and friends are
respectfully welcomed and are asked to wear masks and practice social
distancing due to current COVID guidelines. Arrangements are under the
direction of the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich. Memorial
contributions in his name may be made to The Masonic Scholarship Fund c/o
the John T Heard Masonic Temple, 70 Topsfield Road in Ipswich MA 01938.
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