Clarence Peter Savchenko

Clarence Peter Savchenko was born on November 04, 1915, in a sod house on the farm that his parents had homesteaded near Makoti, North Dakota. His parents were Peter and Mary (Dovich) Savchenko, who had immigrated separately from the Ukraine. He was schooled in and graduated from Makoti High School where he played the trumpet in the school band. Following high school, Clarence and his brother, George, rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle to Cleveland, TN, where they enrolled in The Bible Training School (later renamed Lee College and even later Lee University, a Church of God institute).

While at Bible school, he met and fell in love with Laura Elma Greene, a young music student from Big Timber, MT, where, on October 28, 1936, they were married. Their marriage survived for nearly 70 years until Elma passed away on August 30, 2006. This union was blessed with three children: W. Edwin Savchenko (wife, Shirley); Carolyn Jordeth (husband, Gene); and Janice Johnson (husband, Lance); ten grandchildren: Debbie, Doug, Kevin, Sherri, Richard, Marilee, Renee, LaFae, Melissa, and Jason; fourteen great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.

Clarence and Elma were both musicians and ordained ministers, first in the Church of God and later in the Assembly of God denominations. For many years, they traveled in Montana, North Dakota and Kansas, evangelizing and planting churches. Often times, Clarence built the church buildings and worked at other jobs to earn a living while Elma taught music in the community. The last church building that Clarence built (along with a number of volunteers) was the Campus Church at Northwest Bible College in Minot, North Dakota, in 1959. One of his greatest joys in life was playing his trumpet in church bands and using his rumbling bass voice in vocal ensembles until one of his vocal chords was damaged as a result of a surgery. He humbly considered his life’s greatest accomplishment to be the many devoted Christians who were introduced to the Lord by Clarence and Elma. At the same time, his strongest desire was to do whatever he could to be sure that his family members would, one day, be able to join him and Elma in Heaven.

Clarence loved to work and was a diligent, hard worker. He became proficient as a mechanic, carpenter, and mill-right welder. His biggest project was as a superintendent who supervised construction of the Minuteman Missile underground silos that were constructed and installed across the upper mid-west during the early 60’s. In 1966, Clarence and Elma moved from Minot, ND, to Seattle, WA where Clarence took his skills to Northwest Hospital in the Building Maintenance Department where he spent the next 15 years and from which he retired. During the next 20 years, the couple traveled a lot and visited most of our 50 states. They fell in love with Arizona and established residency in Mesa, where they became faithful members of Red Mountain Christian Center.

Clarence was preceded in death by his wife, Elma, a grandson, Kevin Savchenko, his parents, and brothers George and Vance, brothers-in-law Victor Sebens and Alvin Peterson, and sisters-in-law Olga Savchenko and Lillian Savchenko. Along with the afore-mentioned offspring, also surviving are his three sisters, Elma Hill in Atlanta, GA, Lillian Peterson in Arcadia, CA, and Elsie Sebens in Spokane, WA. He lived the last year of his life with daughter Carolyn and her husband Gene, in Mesa, and finally surrendered to a long battle with cancer and passed away, peacefully, on Good Friday, April 22 at 10:30 AM.

Arrangements are entrusted to Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park and Funeral Care 400 South Power Road Mesa, Arizona 85206 (480)830-4422. A Celebration of Life will be held Monday, May 2, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. at Red Mountain Christian Center 740 N. Power Road, Mesa, Arizona 85205. An inurnment will take place Monday, May 2, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. at Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park and Funeral Care. Please pay tribute to Clarence by visiting the family's website, at www.MariposaGardens.com.

Memorials may be given to:

Red Mountain Christian Center

740 N. Power Rd.

Mesa, AZ 85205

Or

East Valley Hospice

1351 N. Alma School Rd., Ste. 250

Chandler, AZ 85224