Robert “Bob” Lebby Clement, Jr., 88, of Charleston, died Friday, June 9, 2017. Mr. Clement was born in Charleston on December 14, 1928, the only child of Robert Lebby Clement and Julia Axson Thayer. On November 26, 1954, Mr. Clement married Helen Matilda Lewis in St. Michael, Pennsylvania. They had three children, Jeanne, Robert, and Thomas Clement. Mr. Clement was fond of saying, “I’m still married to the one I picked in 1954.” Mr. Clement graduated from The Citadel in 1948 as an English major and a Distinguished Military Graduate. He entered Duke University School of Law at age 19 “and found that most of my classmates were returning veterans and somewhat older,” he recalled. At Duke he was a member of Delta Theta Phi fraternity. In his senior year, in 1951, he passed the North Carolina Bar exam and began practicing law in Charlotte as a sole practitioner. Two years later, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Air Force and served in the Judge Advocate General’s Department before returning to Charleston to resume the practice of law. In 1960, Mr. Clement was Assistant Charleston City Attorney; and from 1961-1964, he was a Judge of the Municipal Court for the City of Charleston. He also served for seven years as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. In 1965, he became a founding partner of Young Clement Rivers, LLP, which he served as managing partner until 1993. “The firm began with about 30 lawyers and over the years proudly became one of the best-known firms in the state of South Carolina,” he recalled. After serving two years of a four-year term as a County Councilman, Mr. Clement was elected Chairman of the Council for 1985-86. Mr. Clement believed in giving back to his profession. He had a special expertise in corporate, banking and business law and was the first president of the Charleston Lawyers Club, and an active member of the bar associations of Charleston County, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the American Bar Association. He was chairman of the Section on Corporations, Banking and Taxation of the South Carolina Bar and was chairman of its committees on Law Office Management and Economics. He served as president of the Charleston County Bar and was a member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer of the American Law Firm Association. Mr. Clement’s business activities and directorships included serving as President of Charleston Automotive Parts, Inc., which his father founded, Director of the American Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Chairman of the Charleston Advisory Board of Citizens & Southern National Bank of South Carolina, and Director of William M. Bird and Company, Inc. Mr. Clement was also active in numerous cultural and civic organizations. He was president of The Charleston Museum and served on its board of trustees, as well as president and district governor of the Sertoma Club. He was also a senior member and past president of the St. Andrew’s Society, a member of the Society of Cincinnati, and served as Governor and Deputy Governor General of the Society of Colonial Wars for the State of South Carolina. He was a member of the First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, the Rotary Club of Charleston, the Charleston Club and the Carolina Yacht Club. He served as chairman of the Downtown Council Division of the Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce and as a member of its board. He also served on the Boy Scouts Executive Board and was involved with the South Carolina Historical Society, the YMCA, and the Charleston Symphony. He served as Chairman for the Governor’s Higher Education Study Committee for Charleston County, and chaired the Downtown Council and the Broad Street and America Street Beautification Committees. Mr. Clement was admitted to the U.S. District Court of North Carolina in 1951, the Supreme Court of South Carolina in 1954, the U.S. District Court of South Carolina in 1956, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1960. Mr. Clement is survived by his wife, Helen; his three children, Jeanne Marie Clement (Steve), Robert Lebby Clement III (Carol) and Thomas Legare Thayer Clement (Lea); his five grandchildren, Laura Ashton Booras, Kathleen Thayer Booras, Julia Roberte Bohne Meyers, Helen Lebby Clement, Robert Lebby Clement IV; his five step-grandchildren, George Oscar Short IV, Caroline Elizabeth Coleman Short, Luke Meyers, Danielle Meyers and Lauren Meyers White. He is remembered by his loving children as their best friend, father, and a man who loved the Lowcountry and all it had to offer. He was a Southern Gentleman who enjoyed traveling, hunting, fishing, shrimping, and the outdoors. The funeral service will be held Monday, June 12, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. in the Summerall Chapel – The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409. The family will receive friends on Sunday, June 11, 2017 between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at J. HENRY STUHR INC., DOWNTOWN CHAPEL, 232 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Memorials may be made to The St. Andrew’s Society Pipe and Drums Band Scholarship, The Citadel Foundation, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409. A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston.
Posted in: Post and Courier
Posted on: 2017-06-12
Link to original obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charleston/obituary.aspx?n=robert-lebby-clement-bob&pid=185770156&fhid=6051#sthash.GKIpjvhq.dpuf