Clarence D. Mamuyac

Clarence D. Mamuyac, Sr. passed away peacefully on March 17, 2012, surrounded by his loving family. He was 70. Clarence was a landscape architect whose career began with the California Department of Transportation (D.O.T.), Office of Engineers for Highways and Bridges, as a designer and detailer, and later as a construction inspector for several state highways construction projects. A career-changing assignment with the D.O.T. sent him to San Diego on a year-long internship designed for graduate engineering interns. With only some community college education on his resume, and with the urging of his mentors, he applied and competed for the internship and was selected from a pool that otherwise included engineering students from UCLA and UC Berkeley. Through this internship, Clarence gained valuable knowledge of heavy construction and civil engineering approaches and solutions to complex engineering real-time construction issues. Following several months of intensive field study, he advanced to a construction inspector's position where he reviewed and inspected several major highway interchanges in the greater San Diego area. His tenure with the state allowed him to gain valuable engineering and technical skills, which would ultimately form a strong foundation for the next phase of his career as a landscape architect. . Following a ten-year run with the Highways and Bridges engineering group, Clarence joined Sacramento-based Dennis Tsuboi and Associates, one of the Central Valley's best-known landscape design firms. Here Clarence brought a strong technical background that helped establish the firm as one of few Northern California landscape architectural practices that provided engineering experience in the areas of grading, construction detailing, and irrigation design. Within a short period of time, Clarence's technical skill set had created a market niche for Tsuboi's firm and opened doors to several large park commissions for multiple park districts throughout the greater Sacramento area. Clarence quickly advanced to a senior leadership role, becoming a partner in the practice and watching the banner of the firm change to Tsuboi/Mamuyac and Associates. With the retiring of Dennis Tsuboi, Clarence was joined by Saburo Takehara and Andrzej Woroniecki, and they renamed the firm MTW Group (Mamuyac, Takehara and Woroniecki). The firm continued to build upon the success from previous years under the new name, with Clarence serving as the firm's president and CEO. Clarence took tremendous pride in seeing a successful transition of the firm to new leadership and shortly before his retirement in 2011, two new partners were added to the firm. His time with MTW Group included hundreds of projects throughout the greater Sacramento area, as well as in multiple geographic regions throughout the state of California. His projects include work for clients such as the Sacramento International Airport; the Sacramento Convention Center; California State University, Sacramento; University of California, Davis; and Crocker Art Museum. He collaborated with his son, architect Clarence D. Mamuyac, Jr., on Countryside Park in Sacramento, which received design honors from the American Institute of Architects California Council and the American Institute of Architects, East Bay, for design excellence. Clarence, Sr., shared his professional expertise beyond private practice, serving as a commissioner for the Sacramento Planning Commission and providing pro-bono services for his community on a range of neighborhood volunteer committees. Clarence was a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. In addition to a long and successful career as a landscape architect, Clarence developed a keen interest in sports, particularly golfing, biking and running. He was an avid cyclist, runner, marathoner and budding biathlete, who amassed an amazing list of events that he participated in over the years. Some of his proudest accomplishments include completing the Relay, a 199-mile team relay marathon from Calistoga to Santa Cruz; the Tour of the California Alps-Death Ride in Markleeville, California, in which he completed several passes at the age of 68; and most recently in 2012, the Fleet Feet Shamrock'n Half Marathon in Sacramento, which he completed for the fourth time in four years, earning his fourth medal - this time as a second-place finisher in his age division. Most importantly, Clarence was a kind, loving and dedicated son, husband, father, and grandfather. He was a devoted son to his mother and father in their final days. He enjoyed getaways to Carmel, the wine country, the Bay Area, Lake Tahoe, and golfing with the love of his life, Irene, and he attended countless events and milestones for his children and grandchildren over the past 52 years. His family was a tremendous source of pride and love and they will miss him immensely. Clarence was predeceased by his parents, Eleanor and Martin Mamuyac, Sr., and he is survived by his loving wife, Irene, of 53 years; his son Clarence, Jr., and his wife Karen Dyer Mamuyac and their two children, Erin and Nate; his daughter, Tiffany Nauertz and her husband Jeffrey Nauertz and their daughter Hannah; and his siblings, Jane, Monica and Martin Jr.. A memorial service celebrating Mamuyac's life will be held on March 31, 2012 at 12:30 pm at St. Mel's Catholic Church located at 4745 Pennsylvania Avenue, Fair Oaks, California. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his name to: American Heart Association File 30947 PO Box 60000 San Francisco, CA 94610.