Carl C. Clement Jr

1931 - 2016

Capt. Carl C. Clement, Jr., USN, Ret.

O Maker of the mighty deep whereon our vessels fare

Above our life's adventure keep, Thy faithful watch and care.

We know not where the secret tides will help us or delay,

Nor where the lurking tempest hides, nor where the fogs are gray.

When outward bound we boldly sail and leave the friendly shore,

Let not our heart of courage fail until the voyage is ov'er.

When homeward bound we gladly turn, O bring us safely there,

Where harbor lights of friendship burn and peace is in the air.

Beyond the circle of the sea, when voyaging is past,

We seek our final port in Thee; O bring us home at last.

In Thee we trust whate'er befall; Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

Opelousas—A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church for Carl C. Clement, Jr. Fr. Greg Simien will celebrate the Mass. Rite of Committal and interment will follow in the St. Bridget Catholic Church Cemetery in Lawtell, LA. The Readings for the Mass will be done by Bailey Marks and CDR. David Clement, USN, Ret. Music will be done by vocalist, Christian Marks and organist, Dr. Jonathon Mitchell, Sr. The gift bearers will be Vita Mitchell and Jocelyn Korenek.

Carl Clement, a native of Alexandria, LA, and a resident of Opelousas since 1979. He was a graduate of Menard Memorial High School, Alexandria. He held degrees in Marine Engineering from the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; Engineering Electronics from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA; and Elementary Education from U. L. at Lafayette, LA.

In a Naval Career that spanned almost 30 years, Carl served in 20 duty stations on sea and shore. He served primarily at operational sea duty which included two tours as Commanding Officer and four tours as Executive Officer.

On New Year's Day 1964, while serving as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Mataco (ATF-86), the Fleet and Towing and Salvage Ship rescued the Greek Freighter, ELLI, adrift in the Bering Sea. Towing the vessel for a week, in now and continuing heavy weather, MATACO brought ELLI to the safety of the U. S. Port of Adak, in the Aleutian Islands. In 1972, while serving as Commanding Officer, the U. S. S. PUTNAM (DD-757) was selected to transport the "Little Sisters of the Poor" and their wards across the Mississippi River to the new home in Gretna, LA, symbolically representing the arrival from France of the Religious Order to America.

Following his retirement in 1981, Carl and his family settled in Opelousas, his wife's home. He was an active member of his Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, where he and his wife taught preparatory classes for new Confirmation and instructional classes for new Catholics. While working as volunteers for the Diocese of Lafayette, they helped establish the Parish Council System, and helped write the Constitution of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church Parish.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Vita Pressburg Clement, his childhood sweetheart, whom he had met on Pearl Harbor Day, on December 7, 1941, in Alexandria; his daughters and their spouses: Ruth (Mrs. Chris) Guidry of Opelousas, and Camille (Mrs. Phillip) Korenek of Manhattan, KS; one granddaughter, whom they raised, and considered a daughter, Vita Fontenot (Mrs. Jonathan) Mitchell of Gautier, MS; his sons and their spouses: Carl Clement III and wife, Cheri (McNealy) of Texarkana, TX; CDR. David Clement, USN., Ret. and wife, Jenifer (Joyce) of Cary, NC; and James Ellis Clement, Sr. and wife, Catherine (Williams) of Alexandria, LA; fifteen grandchildren: Victoria Blackwell, Merle Blackwell, Carl Clement IV, Adam Clement, Jeffery Clement, Maura Clement, Lt. JG Stephen Clement, USN, Claire Clement Fitzgerald, Joseph Marks, Christian Marks, Samantha Kakae, Jessica Lowe, James Ellis Clement, Jr., Emilie Korenek, and Jocelyn Korenek; and seven great-grandchildren: Mary Catherine Stice, Ami Marks, Elise Marks, Jonathon E. Mitchell, Jr., James Ellis Clement III, Jameson Lowe, and Tristen Clement; one brother, Horace James Clement, and his wife, Caral Cousins Clement of Mountain View, CA; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Vita Clement Fontenot Blackwell; his granddaughter, Rachel Clement; his sister, Claudia Clement Costa; parents, Carl Clement, Sr. and Hazel Gremillion Clement; a beloved step-mother, who thought of him as a son, Olga Ormand Clement; his maternal grandparents: Alfred Gremillion and Leontine Broussard Gremillion; his paternal grandparents, Harry Clement and Maebell Weldon Clement.

Pallbearers will be Chris Guidry, CDR. David Clement, USN, Ret., James Clement, Sr., Phillip Korenek, Joseph Marks, and Ryan Pressburg. Honorary pallbearers will be Carl Clement III and Stephen Clement.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memory of Capt. Carl Clement, Jr. to be sent to Our Lady of the Redeemer Monastery, 168 Monastery Lane, Opelousas, LA, 70570-1010, or to the charity of our choice.

Visitation will be held on Friday, October 28, 2016, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Sibille Funeral Home in Opelousas. A Rosary service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday in the funeral home. On Saturday, visitation will continue from 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.

The family would like to extend special thanks to the staff of Prompt Succor Nursing Home of Opelousas, the staff of LA Hospice and Palliative Care, and to Dr. Richard Harmon of Opelousas for their wonderful medical care.

Words of comfort to the family may be expressed at www.sibillefuneralhomes.com. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sibille Funeral Home of Opelousas.