SARATOGA SPRINGS — Thomas H. Clements, husband, father of five, and respected community leader, died on December 10, 2015, at the age of 90, surrounded by his family.
Tom’s parents emigrated from Belfast, Ireland in the early 1920s to farm in the Town of Avon, NY. He grew up with seven sisters, one brother and a kinship of farmhands and farm neighbors.
In 1942 he entered the School of Chemical Engineering at Cornell University. After one year he enlisted in the Army Aviation Cadet Program earning the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and became a B29 Navigator. He returned to Cornell in 1946 to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. He was a loyal member of ATO fraternity, played in the Cornell band and met and fell in love with his wife, Jean Pirnie Clements.
He attended the Graduate School of Business at Syracuse University, was employed by NY Telephone and the accounting firm of Arthur Young and Company before relocating in 1951 to Saratoga Springs to begin the Clements Agency, now known as Clements Insurance Brokers, owned and operated by son, Bruce.
Tom was passionate about civic and community affairs. He was one of the founding members of the Saratoga Springs Hotel Corporation that built the Holiday Inn and served as its board president in 1964. He was elected for five two-year terms as the Saratoga Springs City Supervisor and also served as Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. He was instrumental in the creation of Maplewood Manor Infirmary, the County Sewer System and the expansions at the County Airport. He volunteered for the Saratoga County Agricultural Society (aka Saratoga County Fair) for more than 40 years and earned an emeritus Board Member status. He was honored with the naming of The Thomas H. Clements Family Center Pavilion at the
fairgrounds.
For over 60 years Tom was a loyal member of the Saratoga Elks Club and the Oriental Shrine. He served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs Lions Club, Saratoga Springs Hotel Corporation, Saratoga Golf and Polo Club, Saratoga County Fair, Saratoga Springs Chamber of Commerce and was Chairman of the Capital District Transportation Authority, Capital District Regional Planning Commission, Presbyterian Church Board of Trustees, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, Saratoga County Red Cross Chapter, State Bank of Albany and the NYS Public Transportation Safety Board, an appointment made by Gov. George Pataki.
He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Jean Pirnie Clements, his father Henry Sterling Clements, his mother Annie Nora Overend Clements, half-sister Anna Carrick and brother Harry S. Clements.
Survivors include his five children, Susan C. Gagnon (Glenn), Donald R. Clements (Jan Soran), Bruce H. Clements; Joyce C. Tarantino (Daniel), David A. Clements (Linda); nine grandchildren, Mark H. Gagnon (Ingrid), Aimee G. Soniat (Shelton), Kathryn Clements, Timothy H. Clements, Wil P. Tarantino, Caroline A. Tarantino, Jenny G. Tarantino, Lily K. Tarantino, Sarah J. Clements; three great-grandchildren, Amanda Gagnon, Olivia Soniat and R. Lucas Soniat; six sisters, Jeanne Shine, Pearl Hess, Nancy Rubacha, Libby Ferris, Alice Schoonmaker (Jack), Helen Hulburt and 22 nephews and nieces.
Friends and relatives gathered to remember him on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 at the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway in Saratoga Springs. All are invited to join with Tom’s family at a memorial service at 3 p.m. today, Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 at the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church, 24 Circular St. in Saratoga Springs. A private family burial, with military honors, will be held at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville.
The family would be honored with donations made in Tom’s memory to the Saratoga County Fair, 162 Prospect St., Ballston Spa, NY 12020 or the Saratoga Springs Lions Club, P.O. Box 166, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com
