Clarence Kemp

Clarence "Lee" Kemp 89 Passed away on March 29th after a prolonged illness. Lee was born on April 1, 1920 in Fort Collins to Clarence Guy Kemp and Esther Kemp. He graduated from Fort Collins High School in 1940. Lee spent his youth with his friends building and racing midget race cars He joined the Army Air Corps during World War II as an instrument repair technician. Lee met Wilma "Billie" Shannon in Saint Louis while he was stationed at Scott Field in Illinois. They fell in love and were married in 1945. Lee worked on the Horsetooth Dam project as a heavy equipment mechanic before moving to California where he built airplanes for North American Aircraft. In the late 40's, Lee began a long career with the Air Force in a civilian capacity. He worked at Cheli Air Force Station and Norton Air Force base as an electronic technician. He then transferred to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and worked on the Minuteman and Titan Missile programs. He retired in 1979 and Billie and Lee moved back to Colorado. After about a year, they decided to take on the daunting task of building a new house in Cottonwood, Arizona. Always the consummate craftsman, Lee built the majority of the house himself. In 1998, they moved back to Colorado to be close to their family. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Ruth Swayne and his beloved Grandson, Kadar Kemp. Lee is survived by his wife, Wilma, his son Raymond and wife Bonnie Kemp of Fort Collins, his son, Robert and wife Patricia Kemp in Elbert, Colorado, eight grand- children : Amy Butler- husband Matt, Kimberly Blunck – husband Travis, Sarah Hirsch – husband Caleb, Sean Kemp – wife Aneke, Brian Kemp, Stephen Kemp, Abraham Kemp and Jacob Kemp as well as Kadar's widow, JoAnne – husband Brad. . He is also survived by eight great- grandchildren, Tryston, Hailie, Kolby, Alisa, Kadar, Shannon, Tiara and Logan. .He will be remembered as a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather and friend. Services will be held at First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins on Stover and Elizabeth streets at 1pm on Thursday April 8th, 2010 The family requests that donations be made to Pathway's Hospice.