Clement Richard Grenier

Aug 5, 1932 -

May 23, 2021

Clement Richard Grenier of Eagle River, Alaska, passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Sunday, May 23, 2021. He was 88 years old.

Clement, the youngest child of Arthur and Mary Grenier, was born at home on his family's dairy farm at 10 Rod Road in Rochester, N.H. He spent his youth helping on his family's and other farms, hunting and working jobs ranging from driving draft horses to hauling ice.

He longed to take part in the war effort but could not gain the consent of his mother to join the armed forces as a minor, so upon turning 18, he joined the United States Army and served with the military police in post-war London for two years. Upon achieving an honorary discharge from the Army, Clement returned to the United States and traveled the eastern and southern U.S., visiting friends he had met during his military service and working a wide variety of jobs before joining the United States Air Force.

Upon returning to Rochester, he married his childhood friend, Florence Emro, and in 1960 relocated with her and his son, Mark, to Anchorage, Alaska, where Clement was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base. In the following years, in addition to repeated hitches at Elmendorf, Clement would be posted by the USAF in Keisler, March, and Warren Air Force Bases, as well as serving two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was twice decorated with the USAF Bronze Star for outstanding service during his tours of duty in Da Nang and Pleiku.

In 1972, while stationed in Cheyenne, Clement retired from the USAF honorably with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant and returned with his family to their home in Anchorage. There, he accepted a position with Alascom - then RCA - where he worked in communications, often traveling throughout western Alaska, before retiring in the early 1980s. In his retirement, he enjoyed exploring Alaska's rivers and wild country, fishing with his children and grandchildren, following the Boston Red Sox, playing cards with is sons, visiting friends and family around the country, some of who were recent immigrants from Vietnam and traveling in Southeast Asia, Australia and other parts of the world.

Clement is survived by his sisters, Cecile and Claire; sons, Mark, Thomas and Stuart; their spouses, Rita, Patricia and Chie; grandchildren, Kristen Carlson, Kari Dembroski, Kimber Grenier, Kellee Grenier, Zoey Grenier and Genevieve Grenier; and great-grandchildren, James and Kindra Carlson. He is preceded in death by his wife, Florence; and brothers, Norman, Robert and Rene.

Clement will be honored and interred in the Fort Richardson National Cemetery on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in mid-June 2021. Additionally, his family will hold a brief celebration of life on the banks of Eagle River to recognize the love Clement had for sharing the wild places of that valley with his family.