May 27, 1983
What the years have wrought
I can write about him now.
It took a long time to be able to even think about John without tears.
Then for a long time, after the tears dried, it was tough thinking about him without a deep sense of loss and an anger that he couldn’t be with us.
The anger is gone, but sense of loss will never fade.
John Clements, age 19, was a shining star.
He was part of our Journal family back when we were struggling to stay alive … back when we worked until 6 a.m. to put out a quasi-respectable product.
John loved this work and gave it his enthusiasm, his creativity and his dedication.
Just having him around made days bright.
That all ended in 1978 during John’s Christmas vacation in his first year at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
He was on his way to visit his parents from Medford, where he lived with his grandparents, Rina and John McGrogan.
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
One of those oft-decried, never-abandoned high speed chases between the law enforcement and the law breakers, at speeds up to 115 mph, snuffed out John’s promise. Hit broadside by the escaping suspects, John lingered nearly a week, in a deep coma, before he died.
I still get chills thinking about it.
It seems like yesterday.
Once the shock finally hit … once we who love John realized he was truly gone … we tried to come up with a fitting memorial. What would please John most? What would he have suggested had this horrible thing happened to someone else?
John would have wanted to help someone.
John would have decided to make someone else’s life a little easier in some way.
So, we established the John K Clements Memorial Scholarship Fund, with the annual award of $1,000 to be made to a graduating senior from John’s alma mater, Edgewood Regional. Need, academic qualifications, future plans, scholastic, extra-curricular involvement … all of the criteria that determine the winner should be as closely paralleled to John’s background as possible.
The first year after John’s death, we got contributions to the scholarship fund from people who knew and loved him … their way of paying tribute to him.
Since then, the scholarship has been funded 50/50 by john’s grandparents and The Journal.
Each year, it has gone to a future success story.
Today, the first Clements Scholarship recipient, Michael DeNardo of Blue Anchor, accepts his diploma from Temple University.
We’re as proud of Michael as we were of John. Michael has demonstrated continued initiative and determination. While holding down at least two part-time jobs, plus writing for The Journal, he managed to keep apace with his studies and perfect his chosen craft … broadcast journalism … and without losing his keen sense of humor or his zest for life.
We expect to hear nothing but good things about Mike’s future because we know he’s one of those people who makes good things happen.
Other Clement scholars wait in the wings for the coveted college diploma … Deborah Brooks, Scott Beswick and Fred Hoyle.
In June, we’ll award another scholarship to someone equally deserving.
John never got his chance to make it as big as he would have.
It’s no substitute, and it isn’t much consolation … but there is a measure of comfort in seeing others seize the opportunity and succeed.
Congratulations, Mike!
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