Obituary of Truman Clements

Spencerport: October 31, 2014. Predeceased by his wife, Neva (Zarpentine) Clements; brother, Melvin Clements. Truman is survived by his children, Patrick (Susan) Clements & Jennifer Patterson of Palm Harbor, FL; grandchildren, Chloe, Jessica & Iris; sisters, Julia Straub, Barbara Mason & Gladys (Gordon Henry) Keenan; brother, Blair (Linda) Clements; sister-in-law, Doris Foster; several nieces & nephews. Truman served in the US Army from 1955 to 1961 and was retired from Eastman Kodak. Truman's visitation will be Friday, November 7th from 5-7 PM at the funeral home, 15 West Ave. His Memorial service will be celebrated 11 am on Saturday in the funeral home. Interment will be in Parma Corners Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Aurora House, 2495 S Union St, Spencerport, NY 14559 in Truman's memory. Truman was born in Avon, NY on December 25, 1933. Growing up, Truman's siblings called him Toupe or Toupie. The kids at school nicknamed him "worm" because he was always reading. His sister Julia, being the oldest, babysat alot and said that Trupe was always the easiest to watch because he was so well behaved. He was in Scouts, played basketball, tennis, and football. In 1941, the family had just moved to Fowlertown and all the kids got sick (thought maybe it was something in the water) but Trupe didn't get over it. Finally, during a forced blackout (wartime), they drove to Avon with no headlights to get him to the hospital. His appendix had burst and he was lucky to survive the ordeal. In high school, Trupe was a pinsetter at Cal Bowl. At this time, the side door of the house had a dual landing that either went up to the kitchen or down to the basement. There was a sign that read "Worm's Pool Hall" pointing down to the basement. Trupe would hold Euchre tournaments with up to a dozen players as the kids could come and go pretty much undetected. At times, his father would join in upon returning home. After graduation, Trupe worked at Ritter Manufacturing and was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 22. Serving from 1955-1957, he was stationed in northern Michigan and was a radar specialist before being released to the reserves at which time he returned to Ritter Mfg. Trupe loved his country in his own quiet way and was proud to have served and had great respect for others who had also served. He later worked in roll-coating at Eastman Kodak, working swing shift for many years. It is believed that Trupe met the love of his life, Neva, at Wayne Zarpentine's Springbrook Inn where she bartended from time to time. Their personalities complimented each other. Neva was an outgoing storyteller, while Trupe was quiet, reserved and even tempered, never seeming to let things get to him. They were wed on April 11, 1958 in the presence of their friends, George & Beth Henry. They spent their 51 years of marriage as hard-working, dedicated parents who sacrificed for their children. Trupe made sure they were able to enjoy a summer cottage on Lake Ontario, had a boat for fishing, went waterskiing, tubing, rode dirt bikes, go karts, and other fun activities. Although Trupe often worked odd hours, he would head to wherever his family was as soon as work was over. The cottage was the primary vacation spot, but the family also frequented Roseland and visited Orlando and Myrtle Beach. Trupe was an excellent athlete, he played basketball, football, tennis, archery. He was ambidextrous, golfed left handed and loved all sports. He excelled at tennis in high school, was Livingston County champion, made sectionals and was expected to do very well in regionals but cut his palm severely just before the match. Trupe played anyway but failed to make it to states. In his later years, he was an accomplished bowler (200+ average) and an avid golfer. He loved boating, fishing and water sports. Trupe was a patient man -- he took the time with his kids to teach them a variety of things including bowling, sailing, archery, baseball, fishing, motorcycling and so much more. He really enjoyed sharing his talents and teaching. He always encouraged them to do their best and to keep trying if it was something troublesome. One time he took Jen and Patrick out fishing on Lake Ontario with a brand new fishing pole. He was showing Patrick how to cast and lost his grip on the first cast. The pole hit the water and slowly sunk out of sight. Hook, line, sinker and pole went straight to the bottom of the lake. He participated in cub scouts with Patrick and was always involved in all the kids' activities, even helping Patrick build a pinewood derby car which got them to the county finals. Trupe worked hard to support his family. He worked endlessly at the cottage to make sure the kids had childhoods full of rich memories. There was never a shortage of chores to do and Trupe did them without a complaint and somehow with perseverance always got them done. When he saw anyone faced with some challenge, he would say "you have to get started to get done" -simple but true-- that was Trupe! While leaving Trupe's apartment one night, Patrick passed a young couple who were Trupe's neighbors. They asked about how Trupe was doing, and were sad to hear he wasn't doing well and went on to tell a great story of how one night they had a flat tire on their car-- when Trupe saw this, he started his own car and positioned it so his headlights were shining so that they didn't have to change the tire in the dark. They were grateful for his thoughtfulness. Patrick was so proud - generous and thoughtful-- that was Dad! At the beginning of the summer, a pair of Canadian geese made a nest on the island in Patrick's back yard pond. There were four eggs in the nest and Trupe would visit every day to see if the eggs had hatched. This went on for a couple of weeks till finally the eggs hatched. Trupe continued to go by and keep track of his geese until finally they moved on. He was interested in nature and this small example illustrates that. Trupe loved sports, not like a fan but as a true admirer of the game itself. He was never really known to root for a particular team-- instead he just enjoyed the experience of the game and the competition. Watching golf is where you could find him on any given Sunday. When it was time for dinner, Neva had to call him many, many times in order to get him to the dinner table. When Neva was passing he did the absolute best he could for her-- he showed his kids how to be strong even at the most difficult times. Trupe will be greatly missed by everyone who knew and loved him.