Obituary of Constance Barr Clements

MONROE — Constance Ellen (Barr) Clements of Monroe passed away peacefully, at home, surrounded by family on June 10, 2023, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Connie was born in Marblehead, Mass., on Aug. 31, 1938, the daughter of Harold E. Barr and Lucy Ellen Snow.

Connie’s father served in the U.S. Army and the family lived in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Germany and New York before moving to Monroe in 1954, where they settled on a dairy farm. She often told stories of four years spent in Germany — attending school and learning German, visiting castles and skiing in the Austrian Alps. As a student at Monroe High School, Connie played on the girls’ basketball team and was a cheerleader for the boys’ basketball team. Traveling to away games required riding in personal vehicles, and one day, Connie caught a ride with Walter “Sonny” Clements. Four years after that fateful first ride, he would become her husband on June 22, 1958.

Connie graduated from Monroe High School as Valedictorian in 1956 and obtained an associate degree in business management from the University of Maine in 1992. She worked at First National Bank in Belfast and as a substitute teacher as she and Sonny started their family. In 1989 she started working for Waldo County Extension, where she remained until her retirement in 2008. Connie and Sonny, along with their son Ken as the third generation, ran Clements Dairy Farm until 2014. They continue to raise and sell crops to other local farmers.

Connie was very active in her local community and with multiple organizations. This included many years as a 4-H club leader; she was chosen to represent the state of Maine at the first National 4-H Salute to Excellence Program in Washington, D.C., in 1982. She was past chairman of the Monroe Extension Group and the Waldo County Women of Extension, served on the Waldo County Extension Association Executive Board and was named the Waldo County Outstanding Homemaker in 1978.

In 1958 Connie joined Loyal Rebekah Lodge #92 where she held multiple offices, including Noble Grand. She then continued on to serve in all the chairs of the Rebekah Assembly of Maine, including president in 1995-1996.

Connie was a mentor and role model to everyone she met, from the students she taught to her 4-H club members to her fellow Rebekah Lodge members. She and Sonny loved to square dance and were a familiar sight on the floor at local dances. They also took many trips around the northeast on their motorcycle and enjoyed snowmobiling around Waldo County. They enjoyed several cruises to the Caribbean, as well as to Alaska, Hawaii and the Panama Canal. Connie grew amazing vegetable gardens, and her berry bushes were always prolific; she filled the farm’s freezers and canning jars every year. Other than her family and friends, her greatest sources of joy were her beautiful flower gardens surrounding the farmhouse in Monroe, and the many hummingbirds that visited every summer.

Connie was predeceased by her parents; her brother, Alan “Spike” Wendell Barr, in 1986; and her grandson Luke Aaron Clements in 2010 from complications of diabetes.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Walter “Sonny” Clements; their four children, and their children’s spouses and offspring, Sabrina Marie and Chris Broadhurst of Wittmann, Ariz., grandson Jacob Peterson and great-grandchildren Jaden and Isaac, and granddaughter Amelia and Dan Hackett and great-grandchildren Logann, Collin, Miley, Luke and one on the way; son Douglas Roy and Amy Clements of Cumberland, granddaughter, Elizabeth Esther and her life partner Daniel Raftery; daughter, Sue Ann and Stephen Lewis of Baltimore, Md., granddaughter Amanda Megan, grandson Bryan Christopher and Diana Lewis and great-grandchildren Kaitlyn, Alaina, Brandon and Madison; and son Kenneth Edward Clements and Rebecca Piston of Monroe.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at Monroe Community Church, with a private burial in Pilgrim’s Home Cemetery, Monroe. Connie requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory designated to Lafayette Family Cancer Institute or Grant 6 Oncology, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (northernlighthealth.org or PO Box 931, Bangor, ME 04402).