Wayne K. Clemens, 88, of Concord, Massachusetts, died Sunday, Dec 12, 2021. He was the beloved and devoted husband of Barbara W. Clemens.
Wayne was born on January 1, 1933, in Evanston, IL. the son of A. Wayne and Grace Kirk Clemens. Wayne's mother passed away when he was seven, and his father moved the family, Wayne and his twin baby brothers, John and David, to California. Wayne was raised by his father and step-mother, Francise Batterton Clemens. He graduated from Hoover High School in Glendale CA, where, during his senior year, he was recognized with the National Exchange Club Unity for Service Award. This provided him the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offices and meet with J. Edgar Hoover.
From 1950 to 1954, Wayne attended UCLA on a Naval ROTC scholarship. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was an active duty officer in the Navy Supply Corps, serving on the USS Ulvert M. Moore, a destroyer escort, from 1954-1957. From there, he went on to earn an MBA from Stanford Business School, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class. He had a successful career in Sales and Marketing, starting with sales for IBM and including Vice President of Sales and Marketing for WrightLine Corporation. After leaving the corporate world, he enjoyed his teaching positions at Boston College and Framingham State. He loved meeting young people and learning about their lives.
When he retired, Wayne founded the Retired Men's Association (RMA) of Boston/MetroWest. The RMA is a non-partisan, not for profit, non-sectarian organization encouraging fellowship and volunteerism among men who, after their careers, want to stay active and involved with other men in a similar stage of life. The organization first met in 1988, with a group of 18 charter members and has grown to a group of more than 200.
Wayne loved the outdoors and enjoyed skiing, hiking and water skiing with his family, often at their house at Lake Sunapee. At age 56, he hiked Tukerman's Ravine and took a trip to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway with his sons. He always had a spirit of adventure and enjoyed travelling. He toured Germany with his family of five in a Volkswagan van with a loose agenda and no set destination for each night. He and Barbara also took the family on an adventure to Zermatt, Switzerland to ski.
A fantastic and fearless cook, Wayne brought home recipes and the occasional ingredients from his business travels. He was famous for his sauerbraten, savory German pancakes and "Parmesan eggs", and he once smuggled white asparagus in an antique clock that he brought home from Stuttgart. He also made the world's best blueberry buttermilk pancakes, preferably with freshly picked local blueberries from the bushes at Lake Sunapee.
Wayne is predeceased by his brother John K. Clemens. Besides Barbara, his wife of 67 years, he is survived by his brother, David K. Clemens of Irvine, CA, sister-in-law Karyl Clemens of Oneonta, NY, son Robert W. Clemens and his wife Shelley Clemens of Columbia, MD, daughter Sandra Clemens Scott and her husband Paul Reilly of Northboro, MA, and son James W. Clemens and his wife Karen Clemens of Moultonboro, NH, as well as five grandchildren, five step-grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held for the immediate family who appreciate all the love and support shown by the community, especially at Newbury Court, where Wayne lived during the last six years of his life.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to:
Alzheimer's Association
225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17
Chicago, IL 60601
online at: alz.org
Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.