Obituary of Clement Clifford Fejfar

Clement Clifford "Clem" Fejfar, age 94, of Tabor, SD passed away early Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at the Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton, SD surrounded by his family. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM, Monday, November 24, 2014, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Tabor, with Rev. Steven Jones officiating. Visitations will begin at 5:00 PM, Sunday, November 23, 2014 at the Opsahl-Kostel Memorial Chapel, Tabor, with a Scripture service and memory sharing at 7:00 PM. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Military rites by SDARNG Honor Guard, Sioux Falls and the Kortan-Hatwan American Legion Post #183 will follow the funeral service. The body will be cremated and the burial of his cremated remains will take place at a later date. Clement Clifford Fejfar was born to Joseph G. and Cecylia E. (Borszich) Fejfar on November 23, 1919 in Janousek, SD. He attended Peterka Grade School and graduated from Yankton High School. From 1940 to 1945, Clem was in the US Army (WW II) and called back again for The Korean Conflict. Many of his Army jobs involved demolition and ammunition work. Upon discharge from the service, Clem received The Soldier's Medal. Clem risked his life to help put out a fire that was burning an ammunition site. During his tour in the service, he saw the aftermath of the bombing of Nagasaki first hand. Clem received an honorable discharge in 1951. He was a lifetime member of the Tabor American Legion Kortan-Hatwan Post #183 , the Ernest Bowyer VFW Post #791 in Yankton, SD and a lifetime member of the Czech Heritage Society. On May 26, 1947, he married Delores G. Lukes in Lesterville. Father of ten children, he is very proud that eight of the ten served in the armed forces. After the service, he worked with his father in carpentry. Clem also worked on government projects, the Gavin's Point Dam and the Missouri Valley Missile Silo site. Clem was an active member of his community in the town of Utica, serving in various positions on the Town Board. He was a member of the Utica Volunteer Fire Department, at a time when they had two hoses on a cart pulled by 2-6 men. He lost his wife Delores of 36 years to complications from breast and bone cancer, and moved to Tabor in 1985. He was a good friend and companion to Frances Herman who passed on in 1988 from cancer. Clem then moved to join Rose Petrik at her farm outside Utica until she passed away in 2002. He was a master cabinetmaker, and built everything from house additions, garages, barns, and sheds. He loved sports of every kind and, "Sideline Slants" by Colin Kapitan documented "Clem Fejfar pitched two no hitters in one day for Utica in 1949 (softball game against Yankton and baseball game against Lesterville)." Colin wrote: "Fejfar was one of the top pitchers of his day - in both baseball and softball". He loved all kind of sports and listened to the games on TV until he passed. Clem recently resided in Tabor, SD with his daughter, Susan and son-in-law, Steve. He is survived by 10 children: Kathern McIntosh of Yankton, SD; Glenn (Sandy) Fejfar of Sioux Falls, SD, Leslie (Deb) Fejfar of Los Angeles, CA, Vincent (Desiree) Fejfar of MD, Marilyn (Dave) List of Yankton, SD, Angela (Will) Reyes of Jacksonville, FL, Arthur (Kim) Fejfar of Sioux Falls, SD, James (Sheryl) Fejfar of Tabor, SD and Paul Fejfar of Jacksonville, FL. There are also 14 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, 9 stepchildren, 9 step great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews. Clem was preceded in death by his wife, Delores, his parents, Joe and Cecylia, his brothers, sisters and in-laws, Delpha (Sam) Learing, Josephine (Ernest) Rick, David (Babe) and Imelda (Ken) Mercer. The family wishes for memorials to be directed to the: Kortan-Hatwan American Legion Post #183, Tabor or the Czech Heritage Society, PO Box 3, Tabor SD 57063.