Donald Ray Clements

Donald Clements

January 3, 1949 – April 13, 2024

An inspirational mentor and dedicated go-getter, Donald Clements was always the first person to tell you to go after your dreams. Life is a one-way ticket, he said. “Make it a good ride and bring an oar.”

Donald - known as Donnie Ray or Pop Pop by his loved ones - died on April 13, 2024 after suffering from a fall that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. He was surrounded by his only child, Michael, and his loving partner, Kathy Stanfield. He was 75.

Born and raised in French Lick, Indiana, Donnie was the first member of his family to attend college. A self-made man, he paved his own path to pursue an education at Indiana State University and establish a career, keeping a meticulous account well into his thirties of every payment he made to clear his student loan debt. He considered one of his top achievements to be earning his MBA from Indiana State University in 1972. To pass the final comprehensive exam, you needed a 16. Donnie was elated when he earned a 19. “Few would have ever expected me to graduate with a B.S., let alone a masters,” he said.

Donnie learned early that he was a natural salesman. He could easily strike up a conversation with anyone, and his ability to cultivate relationships would have a lasting impact throughout his life. Always open to adventures, his first gig out of graduate school put him behind the wheel of a semi-truck with a 45-foot-trailer. He had gotten a job as a southeastern display specialist at Chevrolet, which required him to transport and display a 1973 Chevy Monte Carlo at dealership shows across the country.

The weekend before he left for his first show at the Alabama State Fair, he stopped at the Stouffers Inn Grog Shop in Southfield, Michigan, where he first met his wife, Christine. Over the next 10 months, Donnie traveled the country in his semi-truck until he grew tired of life on the road and took a job as a sales representative at the Burroughs Corporation in Indianapolis. Donnie and Christine kept in touch and were married on April 5, 1975. Two years later, their son, Michael, made his debut into the world.

As Donnie’s career accelerated, his jobs required his family to move multiple times from Indiana to Massachusetts to Ohio to Illinois to Missouri and finally Wisconsin, where he served as vice president for sales at the Mayline Company, an office furniture company. Donnie would not deny that he struggled with work-life balance. But there was no denying that he loved his family with all his heart and would do anything for his wife and son.

At an early age in Michael’s life, Donnie started recording interviews on cassette tapes. Donnie would ask Michael, who was precocious from the onset, about his goals, friends, school – everything and anything. Recognizing that his son had a distinct talent for math and science, Donnie introduced five-year-old Michael to the world of computer science, by purchasing an Atari 800, one of the first personal computers available in 1982. He dideverything he could to support and encourage Michael’s interests, even providing a dedicated space in the basement for a laboratory that would regularly create pungent smells throughout the house and the occasional (minor) explosion.

Some of the best stories that Donnie told were the ones about the many jobs he had throughout his youth. He seemed to have every odd occupation imaginable – paper boy, egg gatherer, airport mechanic, hay bailer, elevator operator, fish counter, stone cutter, and telephone man. In his senior year of high school, he worked at the Pluto plant, where he bottled water and loaded the trucks or freight train cars for shipment. He believes that he and his classmates loaded the last freight car filled with Pluto water to leave French Lick.

One of the most difficult parts of Donnie’s life was when his wife, Christine, was diagnosed with Frontal Temporal Dementia in 2017. He became a fulltime caregiver and agreed it would be best to relocate to a continuing care community in Batavia, Illinois that could provide the necessary nursing care – and be closer to Michael and his family. Just four months after the move, Christine was placed in hospice care and died on September 18, 2018.

After Christine’s passing, Donnie dedicated his time to volunteering for non-profit organizations, including the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Lazarus House. He also was a passionate advocate for the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia, participating in walks and giving lectures about the disease. He was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, where he served on the board of directors and happily signed up for any opportunity to help – from mailing postcards for political candidates to slinging pizza in the UUSG booth during Swedish Days.

No matter where Donnie lived, he kept in close contact with his family and friends from French Lick, Indiana. A Hoosier through and through, he visited Indiana every chance he got and rekindled friendships with former classmates, including Kathy who became his dedicated partner for the last six years of his life. Donnie and Kathy had a standing virtual date at 7:30 p.m. every night to watch Wheel of Fortune and found every opportunity they could to spend time together, including memorable trips to Hawaii, Sanibel Island and Disney World.

Donnie was an extremely proud and dedicated grandfather to his only grandchild, Mikey. In a letter dated August 19, 2012, he shared the following advice with Mikey, who was two weeks old at the time:

“You are very fortunate to have a great family to be a part of and to support you as you grow and head off into the world on your own. I cannot imagine the exciting challenges and opportunities that await you in the future. I listened as my Grandmother Leonard talked of riding from place to place on a horse drawn stagecoach or riding a horse through the woods to avoid the tolls along the road. My father actually attended his first eight years of school in a small one room school where all grades sat together. All that and your dad ended up graduating from Brown. We were, and are, very proud of him. However, we would have been equally proud of your dad no matter what college he would have attended or what profession he would have chosen. The key to me is to follow your heart and you will live without regret. Have the confidence and determination to stick to your beliefs and choices in the face of all the criticism and doubt. As long as what you are doing is honest and not endangering others you should follow your heart and success will be yours.”

Donnie is survived by his son, Michael; daughter-in-law, Lizzie; grandson, Mikey; his partner, Kathy; and brother, Tony.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Brosmer-Kemple Funeral Home on Thursday, June 20th at 10:00 a.m. in French Lick, Indiana, where Donnie will be laid to rest.

Hawaiian attire is encouraged at both.