Nov. 15, 1946 – Oct. 21, 2012

A Mass of Christian burial and inurnment for William Ray “Bill” Clements, 65, of Birmingham, Ala., who died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, will be at 1:30 p.m. today at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Birmingham.

Mr. Clements was born Nov. 15, 1946, in Joplin, Mo., the son of Eugene and Doris Van Valenburg Clements.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1969 in Darmstadt, Germany. During his army stint, Bill was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Sharpshooter M-14.

A 1973 graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in accounting, Mr. Clements was employed by South Central Bell/Bell South, serving as a systems analyst for 28 years. In 1966, Bill led a team developing “Tech Net” Bell South’s state-of-art wireless laptop computer system. As a result the team received the “Computer World” Smithsonian Award.

Mr. Clements was an active member of Prince of Peace Knights of Columbus Council 11537, having held a number of offices, including that of leadership as Grand Knight. As a Fourth Degree member, he served a number of terms as Purser.

Mr. Clements was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Robert Eugene “Bob” Clements.

Survivors include his wife of 41 years, “Trudy” Fritsche Clements; one son, Eric William Clements; one daughter, Stephanie Anne Clements, all of Birmingham; two sisters, Pat Clements Voss and husband, Fred, of Natchez and Judith Ann Clements of Baton Rouge; two sisters-in-law, Kay Clements and husband, Bob, of Birmingham and Barbara Fritsche of Berlin, Germany; and a number of loving nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to the Teacher Endowment Fund of Cathedral School (his alma mater) or to a charity of choice.