Clarence Refer

I will fondly remember the many walks Clarence & I took during lunch at UMB Bank. He was a witty man with a wealth of knowledge about the world and could find the humor in life that others could not see. He could describe the history of Kansas City's downtown in detail as we strolled the streets or relate the intricacies of the complex IT systems that we worked on. Clarence's breath of knowledge was clear to anyone who spoke with him. His loss is a loss to us all.

Clarence was a part of a water aerobics class at Village Shalom, and I knew him through that class. He was such a kind, considerate man. He always greeted everyone in the class, and we thought he was the perfect gentleman.

I met Clarence in 1996 during his tenure at UMB but it wasn't until February of 1999 that he became a stalwart regular with Steve Young (another UMBer) and I. By "regular" I mean we would go out to dinner, once a month like clockwork. Who knew that tradition would go on for 20 years? All of us being programmers, we kept our visits charted on a spreadsheet, over the many years.

My favorite memory would be any of the many times we went to Stroud's (which was usually Clarence's pick)....