D. Hayes Clement

He was born September 27, 1935, the eldest son of the late Don and Frances Mason Clement and raised in New Bern, N.C., before graduating in 1954 from Phillips Academy (Andover) where he lettered in football and basketball. He graduated in 1958 from Duke University where he played four years as center on the mens’ basketball team, and was also a member of the men’s track team and Kappa Alpha fraternity.

His career as a certified public accountant spanned 35 years in both Atlanta and in Greensboro with Arthur Andersen & Co., where his clients included Delta Airlines, Emory University and various hospitals and medical centers. Following his retirement in 1992, he served as a longtime board member of Halstead Industries, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Libby Hill Restaurants.

Outside of work, Hayes was an engaged and valued board member or trustee for a long list of local non-profits and schools, including Gateway University Research Park, Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro, the Greensboro Sports Council, Guilford College, Guilford Technical Community College, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Habitat for Humanity, the John R. Kernodle Memorial Scholarship Fund, North Carolina A & T State University, Triad Stage, Canterbury School, Moses Cone Hospital and Foundation, and Well-Spring Retirement Community.

As a scholarship student who worked his way through both Andover and Duke, Hayes was deeply committed to creating scholarship opportunities at both institutions, as well as Communities in Schools, a dropout prevention program he helped lead in Atlanta and later launched in Greensboro in 1986.

The foundation for Hayes’ volunteerism was his talent for fiscal responsibility, his belief in sharing, and a genuine interest in improving the lives of others.

Hayes was the recipient of a number of awards honoring his community leadership, including the Guilford College Charles C. Hendricks award, the Communities in Schools of North Carolina “Power of One” award, the Greensboro United Way Alexis de Tocqueville award, and the Thomas Osborne Distinguished Citizen Award.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Carlotta “Clem” Mewborne Clement; their son D. Hayes Clement III of Kingston, N.Y.; their daughter Lillian Clement Richards and her husband Norman, of Charlotte; grandson Henry Prioleau Richards of Charleston, S.C.; and granddaughters Zelime “Leemie” Clement Richards of Charlotte, and Lillian Carlotta “Lilly Carl” Richards of Raleigh. He is also survived by his brothers, Joseph Mason Clement and his wife Rebecca Elmore Clement, and Robert Lane Clement and his wife Eugenia Hofler Clement, all of New Bern; nieces Emily Stewart and her husband Burton, of Raleigh; Hunter Duggan and her husband Bill, of Suffolk, VA; Liza Blake and her husband Walter, of Wilson; Elizabeth Townsend and her husband Douglas, of Durham; Virginia; Spykerman and her husband Mark, of Philadelphia, PA; and nephew Burke Mewborne and his wife Alison, of Tallahassee, FL.

Services will be held at Greensboro’s Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 607 North Greene Street, at 2 pm Saturday, March 23, followed by interment in the church’s columbarium and a reception in the Haywood Duke Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro, PO Box 1347, Greensboro, NC 27402; or to the Well Spring Employee Appreciation Fund, 4100 Well Spring Drive, Greensboro, NC 27410