Holland Dale Clem
February 2, 1918 - July 5, 2016
Holland Dale Clem, age 98 of La Plata, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at the La Plata Nursing Home in La Plata, Missouri.
Born February 2, 1918, three miles northwest of La Plata, Missouri, he was the son of Clair H. and Ruth M. (Gross) Clem. In 1958 he married Cleona (Saffell) Benjamin who had a young son, Danny. After Cleona passed away in 1960, Holland adopted Danny. On November 25, 1966 he married Ella (Brookshier) Cokerham, who had two daughters, Melba and Martha. Ella passed away January 30, 2015.
Also preceding him in death were his parents, one son-in-law, Jack Bowen, and one granddaughter, Jana Bowen.
Surviving is one son, Danny Clem and wife Debbie of Plano, Texas; two daughters, Melba J. Bowen of Kirksville, Missouri and Martha Bagley of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin; one sister, ImoJean Mindlin of Dayton, Ohio; four grandchildren, Jon Bowen and wife Tina, Ronald Bowen and wife Tamra, Ian Clem and wife Haley, and Sean Clem; twelve great grandchildren, fourteen great-great-grandchildren; and one niece, Toni Mindlin of Dayton, Ohio.
Holland was a 1936 graduate of Macon High School and a 1940 graduate of Northeast Missouri State Teacher’s College in Kirksville, Missouri with a major in Social Science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.
He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1941 to 1946. Holland taught Social Science and coached both girls and boys basketball in Eugene, Missouri, Kahoka, Missouri, and La Plata, Missouri, retiring in 1949 to go into the business field.
Holland purchased Cull’s Grocery Store in La Plata, Missouri in the spring of 1949, and in 1959 he purchased the Perry Grocery Store on the northwest corner of the square. In 1958 he sold a half-interest of the stores to Richard Ramsey and changed the name to C and R Market. They expanded their grocery business in the 1960’s by buying several other stores in northeast Missouri.
Holland served on the Board of Directors at the La Plata State Bank, La Plata School Board, a member and later president of the Rural Rental Housing Development, and the La Plata Cemetery Association. He was a member of the First Christian Church in La Plata.
Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 8, 2016 at the First Christian Church in La Plata, Missouri. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, starting at 1:00 p.m.
Burial will be in the La Plata Cemetery under the direction of Travis Funeral Chapel.
Memorials in memory of Holland Dale Clem may be made to the First Christian Church or to La Plata Nursing Home. They may be sent to or left at Travis Funeral Chapel, 125 S. Church St., La Plata, Missouri 63549.
