MEMORIES OF RAPHAEL CLEMENT
I was just weeks away from my 14th birthday when I first met brother Clement. Mother and I had just arrived in Richland the day after World War II ended. My father had come up in late 1943, while Mother and I remained in Salt Lake City, Utah. When he was able to get us a house, which was a duplex "B", we packed our things and traveled to Richland in a Nash Coupe, pulling a small trailer with all our worldly possessions in it.
I began going to Sacrament meeting by myself in Utah, when I was 11 years old. My father was not a member of the L.D.S. Church, and my mother was inactive. After my father went to Washington I joined the L.D.S. Church, and my mother became active with me.
I think brother Clement was the Sunday School President in Richland, and we were meeting for church meetings in the Lewis and Clark grade school. Sometime after that we transferred to the Jefferson grade school, then later to the High School.
During those early teen years, I dated brother Clement's son DeVon, then later we were married.
Dad Clement had a profound influence on my life, especially on my spiritual life. I grew to love him very dearly. Whenever I had questions concerning the gospel, which all young people sometimes do, I would talk with him. My own father, not being a member of the church at that time could not be there for me, so Dad Clement was not only my father in-law, but my surrogate spiritual parent. I reveled in his love, and drank in his strength from many directions.
He was one of the Priesthood brethren that my father admired and desired to be like. After Mother and I arrived in Richland, daddy began attending church with us, enjoying so much the Priesthood meetings and mingling with those special brethren, including brother Clement. Within the next two years he was baptized, and when Dad Clement became Stake Patriarch, he was the one to give him his patriarchal blessing.
I remember his cute smile, and the twinkle in his eyes when he teased. It was gentle teasing. He had a beautiful tenor singing voice and I remember how amazed I was when at about 50 years old he started taking piano lessons! When each of his daughters in-law had their first baby, he bought us a new outfit. Then as the babies came so fast and furious for several of us he discontinued the practice because he said we were going to "break" him!
There are two experiences concerning him that remain very precious in my memory. The first one is a dream I had about him before he died with cancer. He had been sick for some time, and it seemed that no one wanted to even consider that his sickness would be terminal. I don't remember anyone wanting to even talk about that. I guess it's because we loved him so much.
But one night I dreamed that he died, and we were all in a room mourning the fact. Then the next scene was him entering the room, alive and well. We all jumped up, elated, wanting to hug him, and with a sweet and gentle smile he said, "I can only stay for a moment." Then I awakened.
I knew at that point we were going to lose him. I told my mother the next morning about the dream, and she said that I should tell Mother Clement. I did that, and she told me that I should relate it to Dad. I will never forget (it brings tears to my eyes remembering) sitting on a chair, next to him lying on the couch, him holding my hand, and me relating the dream to him. We both were in tears. Then he said, sadly, "Now my grandchildren will never know me," and I said, "Yes, they will Dad, because we will tell them about you." And we have.
The next experience was funny. DeVon, Dad and Mother Clement and I had traveled to Oregon to see a doctor we thought could help him. This was before we knew about the cancer. We camped out one night and the next morning I saw a bear a little ways away in a bush. I sneaked up toward the bear to get a picture. The bear kept moving from side to side, and I would move too. We did this about 3 times, then the bear got tired of the game and came up a full TEN FOOT high, ROARED, and raised his big furry arms at me, beating the bushes furiously! If you ever saw a woman "fly" back to safety! When I got back to the car everyone was bent over, laughing, including me, embarrassed as I was. I think that is the hardest I ever saw Dad laugh.
He was so very dear to me, and when he died it was the first person I ever loved that passed on. As I touched his hand in the casket and bade him goodby for now, I knew the Lord was gaining a very special son back and we would miss him. But I knew that someday I would enjoy one of his big bear hugs again.
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