Published: October 10, 2008 02:31 pm            

2008 Oktoberfest Burgermeister

CULLMAN — By Tiffany Green

TGREEN@CULLMANTIMES.COM



Cullman’s 2008 choice for Oktoberfest Burgermeister this year is Philip and Pat Clemmons. The Clemmons are being posthumously recognized.

The Clemmons three children will represent their parents in this years Oktoberfest festivities. Nancy lives in Cullman with her husband Steve Moore. They have four children. Moore has been the purchasing manager of Elk River since 1993. She also serves as the property manager of Clemmons and Clemmons. Philip is married to Noelle and resides in Stafford, Va. They have been married for 21 years and have twin boys. He is a Lieutenant Colonel for the U.S. army. He is also the president of Jelco. Katherine currently serves as vice president of sales and marketing for Jelco. She splits her time between Pensacola, Fl and Montreal.

“It is truly an honor to accept the award on their behalf,” said daughter Katherine. “Mother and Daddy would have said they did not deserve to be recognized, they were just doing their part. They felt as if they were never due any recognition.”

The Clemmons roots go deep in Cullman. Philip’s family moved to Cullman when he was just a boy. He was the son of Dr. L.H. and Francis Blair Clemmons. Pat was born to the late John H. Cooper and Iva Carroll Cooper Richardson. Her parents owned and operated the R.C. Bottling Plant in Cullman.

Philip and Pat met and fell in love at Cullman High School and eventually married. The Clemmons started their family and had three children, Nancy, Philip, Jr and Katherine. They briefly left Cullman for Philip to attend Howard College, now Samford University and the University of Illinois.

The Clemmons moved their family back to Cullman and opened Elk River Inc. in 1988. In 1998, J.E. Lortie, Co. (Jelco) out of Montreal, Canada bought Elk River. Three years ago, Philip and Pat became primary owners of Jelco and began spending most of their time in Montreal.

Patty Self worked for the Clemmons at Elk River.

“They were exceptionally good people and great to work for,” Self said. “They treated their employees very well and everyone misses them.”

Philip and Pat would have celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in May of this year, when they tragically died in a plane crash earlier that month.

Philip and Pat were active in their community. They were active members of St. John’s Church, where they participated in the church council, women’s fellowship and the youth group.

“Mother and Daddy always taught us to give back to the community in which you lived in,” Katherine said. “They were always very active in every aspect including civic and church groups.”

Pat became involved in the Oktoberfest through the women’s fellowship at the church. She was the chairperson for the Oktoberfest dinner, which is one of the biggest fundraisers for the women’s fellowship. Their job was to prepare the authentic German meal of schnitzel, potato salad and apple cake. The group once prepared around 800 plates.

Pete Misegades, former Burgermeister, and brother-in-law to Philip, once said of Pat, “Her efforts have made the once arduous task of preparation for Oktoberfest at St. Johns seamless and enjoyable. Philip’s role at head schnitzel cook and Pat’s gopher only increased the efficiency of the determination to make everything as effortless as possible.”

Moore said her parents were involved in their community and will really be missed at Oktoberfest this year.

“They will be missed terribly but they would want life to go on and make the very best of the situation,” Moore said.

Philip and Pat thoroughly enjoyed traveling. On one of their trips, while driving along the Bavarian countryside, Pat saw bales of hay sitting on the side of road dressed in traditional clothing of lederhosen and dirndl. Pat brought the idea back to the Oktoberfest committee as a way to continue to set Cullman’s Oktoberfest apart.

Pat was in charge of decorating the town for Oktoberfest. She would put mum’s in store fronts, put the German people out that have been painted by local artists, put out the Festbaum and the old wagons that can be seen during the week in front of museum and St. John’s Church.

Both Philip and Pat were active with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event. Philip was a two time cancer survivor of larynx cancer and lung cancer. Philip was awarded the Life Inspiration Award from the American Cancer Society in 2001 and was the speaker at the organization’s awards banquet. They were recently awarded the first Commitment to the Cause Award at this years 9th Annual Life Inspirations Awards. The award was accepted by their three children.

Philip was active with the Cullman Area Animal Welfare Association.

“He came to meetings and was adamant about animal welfare,” CAAWA President Linda Morgan said. “They were super nice people, and very, very much involved in working against animal cruelty.”

The Clemmons were adventurous travelers. Philip had his pilots license and they also owned a hot-air balloon.

“They enjoyed doing things together whether it be ballooning or going in the plane or shopping,” Katherine said.

Philip got his ballooning license in 1997 and his fixed wing license in 2000.

“They would use the balloon and plane as often as they could,” Katherine said. “Dad loved to take the balloon to events and let people tether.”

“Phil was always kind of adventurous,” Perry Warren, life long friend of the Clemmons said in an earlier interview. “He used to fly hot air balloons and get people to go up in hot air balloons. Patsy just went along with him. When they moved to Canada, that’s when he started flying. It was the only way they got back and forth and I guess he thought it would be easier to fly themselves.”

“They were two of the finest people I’ve ever known,” Gary Murphree said of his friends in an earlier interview. “I just love all of them ... they’re great people.”

        

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