Pastor William Clements was called home to Jesus and eternal rest on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, after a brief illness with cancer. He was 59.

Rev. Clements served at Trinity Lutheran Church, Villa Park, Ill., St. Paul Lutheran Church, Matteson, Ill, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Puyallup and finally at Redeemer Lutheran Church, on Mercer Island. He also served through Lutheran Ministry Services NW as Lutheran chaplain at Harborview Medical Center and as a volunteer senior chaplain at the King County Jail in Seattle. He was also a chaplain in after-care prison ministry. On Mercer Island, he was very active in the Mercer Island Clergy Association, Kiwanis and was chaplain between 2001 and 2005 for the fire department.

Rev. Clements loved Jesus and wanted others to know the joy of a relationship with God. He loved to sing hymns and played the accordion professionally in college. He was an avid gardener, loved to walk the beach, read, cook new foods, travel and loved being with his family. He traveled to Thailand, Mexico and New Orleans on missions with his wife.

Rev. Clements was born Jan. 13, 1950, in Baltimore. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y. and Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind. He received a Masters in Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Miss. He was ordained into the ministry of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 1976 and obtained a Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1982.

He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Susan, and their children: daughter, Amanda Duvall (Ron), and son, Karl; and his mother, Minnie Clements. He was preceded in death by his father, Louis Clements.

Services have been held. Remembrances are suggested to Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lutheran Ministry Services NW, or the World Mission Prayer League.