Richard B Clemmons II was born Nov. 24, 1951 in Normal IL to Richard B Clemmons and Patrecia June (Handley) Clemmons. He passed away at 8:40am April 9, 2021 after a tough battle with cancer. His parents and grandparents preceded him in death. Surviving is his wife, Kathy Hinthorn Siracuse.
Also surviving are one brother, Martin and two sisters, Dawnja Armstrong and Wendy Simonovic, all in Normal.
“Rick” was a larger-than-life person with a larger-than-life personality. He led the life of Huckleberry Finn as a kid growing up in a neighborhood where he truly knew who lived in every house and everyone knew him! Rick was a man of many talents and many accomplishments who always seemed to put himself into challenging situations. He had a brilliant mind with knowledge about anything and everything and delighted in being challenged by Jeopardy. He was also a huge fan of John Wayne and Sherlock Holmes.
Over his lifetime he was a Cop, a Paramedic, Chief Medical officer at the Pontiac prison during the riots, a Homicide Detective in Chicago for 3 years, Chief Deputy of DeWitt County for a few years, an Officer of the Court delivering summons for many attorneys in town, a certified deep water rescue diver. He was in Vietnam for 3 years and then was with DEA and the CIA where he guarded President Ford for 6 months. He was an expert marksman, loved to fish and loved books. He was a certified Hypnotherapist and loved to dive into psychology and explore people’s personalities. He loved motorcycles and old cars. He was a defender of the underdog and no stranger to defending himself or others. He was a Golden Glove boxer too, as if all the other things he had tackled in his life did not give him enough of a challenge. He was also an “old rocker”, passionate about music and played the guitar and drums and used to sing in coffee shops in his late teen years with his best friend. And did I mention, he was also a 32nd Degree Mason and at 17, he was the first Santa Claus for Eastland Mall!
He was an avid conversationalist, never meeting a stranger. He was compassionate and could entertain you for hours with the many stories of his unique life and his youth. He was a man of his own making and chose to live his life on the edge whenever possible.
It is with the deepest of sadness that, as his wife, I say goodbye to the love of my life who was the most unique and incredibly loving man I had ever known. I will miss him deeply forever. He was my “Rambo” and is truly irreplaceable.
Graveside service will be held Friday, April 16, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington. Bagpiper Paul Shannon will be in attendance and will play Amazing Grace.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of donor's choice.
Once a Cop, Always a Cop!
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