Lawrence, Clem

Clem Lawrence, 67, died Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, at the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following and extended illness. Funeral Services will be 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Monticello, with interment at St. Joseph Cemetery, Prairieburg. Friends may call from 3 until 7 p.m. Sunday at Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello, where a Knights of Columbus rosary will be held at 7 p.m.

Surviving are his wife, Kay; four children, Lance (Summer), Iowa Falls, Larry (Tammy) and Larissa (Brad) Holub, both of Monticello, and Luke (Angie), Manchester; a daughter-in-law, Jen Lawrence, Eldora; 12 grandchildren and another on the way; eight siblings and a sister-in-law, Martina (Chuck) Siek, Blairstown, Loras (Marilyn), Monticello, Marcus (Mary), Marion, Kathleen (John) Faurote, Cedar Rapids, Denise Lawrence, Monticello, Cletus (Linda), Central City, Joann (Jack) Carrothers, Colfax, Mariann (Glen) Holliday, Dahlgren, Va., and Clair, Monticello.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Lee in 2004; a grandson, Breyer Holub in 2005; and two brothers, C.W. Claret and Cyril.

Clement Wenceslaus Lawrence was born July 10, 1946, in Boulder Township, Linn County, Iowa, the son of Wesley George and Tracey Clara Marek Lawrence. Clem graduated from the Monticello Community Schools in 1965. He continued his education at the U.S. Trade School in Kansas City, Mo., and was certified as an auto mechanic.

Clem was a member of Iowa Laborers Union 43. He helped build the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant at Palo, the Carver Hawkeye Arena, and additions to Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Clem met the love of his life, Kay, at the Prairiemoon Ballroom. Clement W. Lawrence and Mary Katherine Heying were married May 1, 1971, at Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church in Lourdes, Iowa. They raised five children on the family farm near Prairieburg. Clem raised hogs and cattle when he wasn't working construction.

In 2001, Clem had a spinal cord tumor removed and it resulted in his partial paralysis. He had been a resident of the Monticello Nursing an Rehab for the past 12 years.

Even though he was paralyzed, Clem still went out to play cards and enjoyed life in any way possible.

Published Jan. 4, 2014 in The Gazette