SLAIN retired teacher Roger Clements was farewelled by more than 100 of his friends and family in Wagga on Friday.
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Remembered as an “extraordinary man” and one of “spirit and passion”, Mr Clements was eulogised on behalf of his family by his daughter Julie, who painted the picture of a devoted man who aimed high in life.
“He had a liveliness and charm, a keen sense of fun and a precocious sense of the ridiculous,” Julie said.
“Dad was a man of intense emotions, abiding principles and a strong belief.”
Mr Clements was killed on Tuesday last week in the backyard of his Springvale home. His son, David John Clements, has been charged with his murder.
At his funeral, frequent mentions were made of Mr Clements’ beloved dog, who he was inseperable from and was by his side when he was tragically killed.
“It was the only Blue Heeler that did not have any of the savagery that often showed up in Blue Heelers,” Lew Morrell, one of Mr Clements’ closest friends, said at the funeral. “I used to be quite amazed in the way that Roger got on with his dog.”
Those gathered to farewell Mr Clements on Friday heard he had been born in Newcastle in November 1931 and excelled academically and athletically as a youngster before heading south in the early 1950s to study at the Wagga Teachers College.
Once Mr Clements graduated, he taught at a number of one-teacher schools in country NSW before heading abroad to Papua New Guinea for two years. He returned to Australia to teach in Sydney briefly before deciding to travel the world.
In Canada, where he ended up settling for around 20 years, he met June, a teacher from England’s north, who he married just three months later.
Mr Clements returned to Australia in 1979 before settling his family in Springvale, “the place he loved most” according to Julie, where he lived until his death last week.
One of Mr Clements’ granddaughters, Ella, recalled family gatherings held at his home were keenly looked forward to among the family’s youngest generation.
“The amount of fun we had in that house seemed like it would never end,” she said.
Tributes to Mr Clements were also paid by some of his closest friends.
Bob Kitchener, who came to know Mr Clements through their joint involvement in Wagga’s bowls community and Kooringal Men’s Probus Club, spoke of his selflessness and generosity.
He recalled during Mr Clements’ time as the club’s secretary, he became so concerned with older members being excluded from meetings due to being unable to drive that he would personally chauffeur them to the club’s gatherings.
