Mr. Russell Bartlett "Rusty" Clements

We will miss you Russ, rip!

May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.

My earliest childhood memory is of Rusty. We lived in Ft. Hood, Texas when I was two years old. Uncle Alvin and Aunt Bettye came to visit, and i think it was the first time they had visited since we moved from Austria because I remember Mom trying to explain who they were. It was summer time and hot! I guess Rusty and I must have had cabin fever because the adults made us play in the back yard. Immediately Rusty found a spoon and started digging in the dirt. I watched him, and after a few minutes he asked me if i wanted to taste it. I told him, "no, it's dirt." He dug a little more and asked me again--explaining that he had already tried it. I thought he was crazy, after all, dirt is dirt, lol. He filled the spoon, handed it to me, and told me it tasted like chocolate. Well who doesn't like chocolate?! So i took the spoon and tried the dirt--it's disgusting, by the way. Rusty burst out laughing and then tattled. We were best friends from that moment on. We were the first of the cousins, the oldest ones. Years go by, each lives their own life, but there's always a special connection for cousins.

Rusty is finally experiencing peace. A funny humorous man, fortunate to meet Kim. He was quiet but he had a wonderful sense of humor.

My condolences