Sunday, April 23, 2017
I'd like to share a few words about my dad. I called him "HC" which stands for "Handsome Clem" - he loved being called that. He had a fantastic sense of humor and would often look at himself in the mirror and say "God I'm handsome" - we would both crack up laughing.
My dad loved pulling pranks on me, my sister Debbie and brother Jerry. One of his favorite pranks was called "Everyone Say Yes" which involved him driving the car with us kids loaded in the back. Without warning he would press on the breaks until all our heads bobbed forward in a "yes" motion, this is when he would say "Everyone Say Yes" - we would all laugh.
He loved going out to eat. His favorite restaurants were Bob's Big Boy, Bill Knapps, and Tony's for steak sandwiches. He was was very generous and would let us order whatever we wanted. Not sure how he did it, but all the waitresses knew "HC" - and knew what he wanted to eat and drink. He had friends everywhere.
His favorite car was a Cadillac. I am not sure he ever purchased one, but he did manage to live in Cadillac.
One of my favorite memories is going to the Fashion Square Mall with him. After school, we would go to the mall and get a treat from the food court. Many times we would go window shopping, again he was very generous and would say "let's get you that shirt,dress, shoes" - it was so much fun!
HC was an excellent provider. We lived in very nice and safe neighborhoods. He made sure we were well taken are of. He made delicious cabbage and carrot soup. He was also very clean and tidy. To this day, I still wash my dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. He did not trust dishwashers! He would say "do you think some hands are are going to come out and scrub the dishes for you?
Over the years we drifted apart, not sure why but we did. However; I will forever be grateful to Ruthann for reuniting us. I could see how my dad fell in love with her. She is very caring, loyal and sincere. To see them interact with each other was very special. They had mutual respect and love for each other and was very obvious to me and my husband Doug when we visited them. What a blessing and comfort to know he was so loved and well taken care of. Thank you Ruthann.
I know my dad is in heaven and look forward to seeing him there in the future. If heaven has cars, I have no doubt that he is driving the angels around in a shiny new Cadillac.
I love you dad. xo
