Earl Raymond Clements

Earl Raymond Clements, 89, died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette.

Funeral services were Thursday at the Family Life Church in Gillette. Burial followed at Mount Pisgah Cemetery with full military honors.

Mr. Clements was born Jan. 12, 1924, to Otice and Marie (Hackett) in Maysdorf. He attended school through the eighth grade. In 1939, his family moved to Biddle, Mont.

He entered the Navy in August 1944 and was honorably discharged in June 1946.

He married Vera Reynolds on Dec. 23, 1949, in Gillette. He worked on various ranches and, in 1960, they made their home at the Clements Ranch in Biddle, Mont., which has been their home ever since.

Mr. Clements was a hard worker and proud of the ranch that he and his wife established for their family. He was a skilled woodworker and enjoyed creating gifts for his family and friends. He loved playing cards and spending holidays and special occasions with his family. He and his wife made many trips to the National Finals Rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Denver Stock Show and to Arkansas. He had a generous heart and was active in the community. He was a member of the Masons, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Powder River County Fair Board. He was instrumental in starting the Belle Creek Fire Department and served as the fire chief.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Vera of Biddle; brothers, Bud and Lester; sister, Donna Malli; children, Linda Hall of Farmington, Ark., Larry Clements of Biddle, and Judy Ratcliff of Gillette; numerous grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; four stepgrandchildren; four stepgreat-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by son Glenn, parents Otice and Marie, brother, Donald and sister Evelyn Sams.

Memorials may be made to the V.F.W. Post 1595 in Broadus, Mont.

Condolences may be sent to the family in care of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home at www.stevensonandsons.com or attached to the obituary at www.gillettenewsrecord.com.