Obituaries from the Bowdle (SD) Pioneer

THE BOWDLE PIONEER June 17, 1993
FRITZ CLEMENT

The funeral for Fritz Clement, age 92 of Selby, retired editor and publisher of the Selby Record, Java Herald and the Cam-Wal Beam, was June 10 at the United Methodist Church in Selby with the Rev. Randy Jellison-Knock officiating.

Burial followed in Selby Memorial Gardens Cemetery with Masonic Graveside Rites by Mobridge Lodge No. 164 A.F. & A.M. Miller Funeral Home of Bowdle was in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Clement died June 5, 1993 at his home in Selby.

Fritz Clement was born Jan. 29, 1901, at Napoleon, OH to Carl F. and Katherine (Maurer) Clement. When he was a child, the family moved to South Dakota and settled at Java. He attended school and graduated from high school there. He attended South Dakota State College at Brookings. In 1922, when his father died, he left college to take over the operation of the Java Herald which he converted from a handset weekly to a more modern hot metal line-casting machine almost immediately. In addition to his newspaper duties, he was also a South Dakota Tax Auditor.

He was married to Ida Krause at Java Feb. 21, 1926 and they lived at Java until 1945 when he purchased the Selby Record and moved his home and business operation to Selby. When their son, Bruce, joined he and his wife in the business in 1950, they expanded their operation and constructed a new building in 1960. Mrs. Clement died Jan. 13, 1982 and he sold the newspaper and printing company Jan. 1, 1984, and retired from active publishing. He continued to make his home in Selby, spending his winters in Mesa, AZ.

Awards and memberships, left out. See the complete obituary.

He is survived by one son: Rodrick Bruce Clement of Selby; one daughter: Mrs. Wendel (Germaine "Bunny") Mead of Selby; one sister: Marguerite Munson of Madison, WI; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one brother: Carl W. Clement, one sister: Freya Clement, and two half-sisters: Ella Mains and Laura Reed.

Honorary pallbearers were members of the affiliated Masonic Bodies, Amateur Radio Operators, Associates in the Newspaper Profession and all the friends he made during his long life.

Casketbearers were Walter Zabel, Richard Miller, Ronnie Stroh, Pat Bennett, Robert Mickelson and Orville W. Robbins.

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