Herman Jerome Clegg
Nov 22, 1929 – Nov 20, 2020
Dad lived a long, full life and was 2 days shy of his 91st birthday when he passed. Herm
was an undaunted ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ man in perpetual motion. Reared during the
depression in the Kansas/Oklahoma countryside, he was hired at age 8 to work the neighbor’s
hayfield. His pay came in bales. During World War II, he relocated to Washington state with his
mother Maye and older sister Rosaly. By day, he attended high school and was a National Honor
Society member and by night he worked and slept on the ferries of Puget Sound where he
developed a life-long passion for everything mechanical, something he maintained well into his
80’s. He shipped out with the Merchant Marines for a year where he made transpacific
crossings and helped transport troops to and from Korea and then, with his new bride Pat,
moved to Seattle where he attended the University of Washington and worked for Boeing
during the week and helped build houses on the weekends. During his 40+ yr career with
Boeing he earned a Professional Engineering license and two masters’ degrees in Organic
Chemistry and Business Administration. He was a project lead for both aeronautic and
government defense contracts and his final assignment brought him to Oak Ridge, TN with his
second wife, Gwen. He was 63 when he ended his professional career.
Herm was a thinker, teacher, builder and a Good Samaritan who readily offered a helping
hand to his family, friends and strangers. These attributes were manifest in his great second act
where, in addition to maintaining his farm, animals and assortment of equipment, he
volunteered tirelessly to work for the church. Dad helped minister to people of all walks of life
and helped build summer youth camps in the interstate region. Having traveled to Zambia for
more than 20 years, Herm worked in children’s school and hospitals. He was always ready to
find a solution to any problem and would dive in and tackle the task at hand. He found a way to
transport water for a local war lord and after driving the school bus over a long and dangerous
road, he designed and built a cement bridge that many said couldn’t be done.
Herm had a never-ending sense of humor, loved to eat, and created time throughout his
hectic life for fun. Dad maintained a life-long passion for oceans, lakes and rivers. He built,
wrecked, and rebuilt many a boat. He really loved the outdoors and driving the open road. His
trial and error approach to life led to wild hunting and fishing adventures that became teaching
opportunities for what not to do. One being the oldest person at age 70 to bungee jump off a
Zambian bridge. Dad experimented with many hobbies with mixed results including gardening,
bee keeping, and raising game birds. His veterinary skills with livestock steadily improved over
time. In his final years, he was dedicated to Gwen’s care and accepted his diminishing skills and
health with grace and dignity. To the end he tried to do his best and to “keep on keeping on.”
Dad is survived by his sister Rosaly, children Steve, Chris, Matt, Jean and Paula, and
stepchildren Mark and Tamara.
Herm’s faith in God and his involvement with church sponsored humanitarian work, brought purpose to his life and peace to his soul. His family is appreciative of the support he received from friends and members of the Heritage Fellowship Church (121 N. Illinois Ave, Oak Ridge TN, 37830) and request that all remembrances be made to his church.
A funeral service will be held at Heritage Fellowship Church at 2:00 PM on Monday, November 30, 2020 with an interment to follow at Lively Cemetery in Oliver Springs. An online guestbook can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.