Clement Arthur Joseph Surprenant

Clement Surprenant was born January 1, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan to Louise and Fabien Surprenant. He was the fourth of five children, Andre, Marcelle, Irene, Clement and Pauline. Growing up, his family spent summers at their cottage. He enjoyed water sports in the summer and also skiing in the winter.

He graduated from Visitation High School in Detroit and was drafted into the United States Army where he served a brief term. He graduated from General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. His thesis book was entitled "Gear Shavings". He worked at General Motors, then took a sabbatical to ski across the country and taught skiing at various resorts along the way.

He met his soul mate Virginia (Ginny) Morle at a ski function. They were married March 2, 1963 and moved to California where they started their family and had 3 children, Christan, Leo and Jennifer.

Clem worked at several aerospace companies on many projects including the NASA Gemini missions before starting his own Inquiry Service Company. He retired in 1998. His hobbies were fishing, woodworking, gardening and wine making.

He and Ginny traveled to Maui, Hawaii for their 25th wedding anniversary and it became their home away from home. He loved the ocean and snorkeling thus his email name was snorkeldude.

Clem was raised Catholic and he would often attend The Church of Jesus Christ with Ginny. The church family dearly loved him and he found himself spending more time with them in his later years.

God took him quickly and left a hole in our hearts. Clem was the nicest, kindest, patient and helpful person to everyone. He never had a bad thing to say about anybody except discussing politics where he was a staunch conservative.

We thank God for allowing us to have him for the years he was with us. It is hard to say good-bye so we will say "Arrivederci" translated from Italian to mean "Until we meet again".

He leaves his wife Ginny, children Chris, Leo and Jennifer, grandchildren Jeffrey and Jessica, brother Andre and his wife Susie, sister Marcelle and sister Pauline along with many nephews and nieces.