Frederick Denny Clements

Frederick Denny Clements, known throughout his life simply as “Denny” to family and friends, was born October 19, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Donald Clements and Louise Farmer Clements. A proud Southerner throughout his life, Denny never lost his deep affection for his Georgia roots. He attended Murphy High School, where he played football, before completing his education at the University of Georgia. While in college, he married Sandra K. Blom, and they had two children, Lisa and Craig Clements.

In 1966, Denny began a distinguished 20-year career as a United States Air Force officer. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary heroism and achievement during aerial flight. His extensive combat flight record was further recognized with seven awards of the Air Medal, and he participated in seven designated combat campaigns during the war.

Following Vietnam, Denny served multiple tours in Germany, a country for which he had developed an appreciation years earlier while participating in a college exchange program. While there he renewed his German language skills and pursued his deep interest in World War II history. He proudly earned the German Jagdschein, an official hunting license requiring rigorous coursework and examinations. His assignment at Hahn Air Base was an especially rewarding chapter of his career, where he supervised flight training for new officers in the F-4 Phantom. After Germany, Denny was assigned to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, retired from the Air Force in 1986, and subsequently joined SRA Corporation.

Widowed in early 1986, Denny later married Anita Stolarow, a colleague at SRA. Together, they built a life filled with travel, history, friendship, and adventure. They started with a honeymoon in Hong Kong and traveled their entire marriage. They often combined trips with Denny’s love for history – celebrating D-Day’s 50th anniversary, a World War I journey for the 100th anniversary, and visiting his uncle’s WW2 air bases in England. Often, they traveled with friends, turning a trip to Europe into a fun-filled group adventure. In later years they enjoyed many ocean and river cruises. Despite losing his leg in 2005 when he was hit as a pedestrian by a car, he was an optimist and knew he was “lucky” after doing his rehab at Walter Reed. He worked hard and soon, with the aid of a cane and sometimes Anita’s arm, he spent many years happily touring historical sites, ancient ruins, and mastering cobblestone streets.

At home, Denny pursued life-long interests. He enjoyed Civil War seminars, collected stamps, managed investments, and took great pride in supporting Anita throughout her career. Denny deeply treasured staying connected with his daughter, granddaughters, and great-grandchildren through visits and FaceTime. To the younger generations, he was affectionately known as Grandaddy—or, with particular fondness, “Grandpa with the robot leg.” Those relationships brought him great happiness and gave his family memories of him that will endure for generations.

For those who knew Denny well, they will remember something much simpler - his joyous nature. He had a big, hearty laugh and an easy willingness to engage with the people around him. He was proud of his heritage, his wife, his family. Whether among lifelong friends or people he encountered along the way, Denny had a way of making himself memorable. He leaves behind not only the record of a remarkable life, but an indelible impression on those fortunate enough to have known him and a lifetime of stories worth telling.

Denny is survived by his wife, Anita Stolarow; his children, Lisa; granddaughter Sarah (Joshua) Rodriguez and great-granddaughter Isabella; granddaughter Rebecca (Amilia) Merjil and great-grandchildren JayDon, Luke, Socorra, and Isaiah. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, Alexander (Tamara) Stolarow; his nephews, Jeff (Tricia) Reeder and Jonathan (Carol) Reeder; his nieces, Melanie Reeder and Allison (Mike) McSpadden; and nephews, Zach (Patricia) Stolarow and Nick (Hannah) Stolarow.

Memorial contributions may be made to:

American Battlefield Trust

www.battlefields.org

Internment will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.