REFLECTIONS ON CLARENCE JEFFERSON DAVIS, Jr.
As I was
leaving our meeting on May 19, I noticed Clarence sitting by the back door.
I greeted him and was welcomed by his usual warm return, truly his
hallmark. I introduced him to new
member, George Pickell, and CJ welcomed him as an old friend.
Clarence immediately asked what profession George represented and they
developed dialogue as if they were partners in a CPA firm.
That was Clarence, always open, enquiring and a brilliant
conversationalist. In the back of
my mind, there was a suspicion that we would never see him alive again. He was making his last meeting.
LaVerne Davis
had asked me to say a few words at his Retirement Party on January 20th.
She told me something I didn’t know about my friend, that Clarence was
a USC football fan(atic), with season tickets.
He mentored many Trojan players a volunteering where he will be hard to
replace. There was a rumor that
when the Trojans had had a poor season and were about to face Notre Dame that CJ
went to South Bend. He hoped to turn their luck, but when he was on the Indiana
campus saw the prominent, yet irreverently named statue of Jesus with the up
raised arms: the “Touchdown Jesus.” Clarence
was heard to mumble that he now knew how the Irish might have gotten their edge
in crucial rival games.
At that
banquet, I presented Clarence with our USC Entrepreneur Program Cardinal and
Gold graduation sash and announced that he was an honorary Trojan Entrepreneur.
His prowess as a balanced manager of parishes was a trait that I had long
admired, truly an entrepreneur for he understood the “bottom line” in all he
did.
We lost the
earthly Clarence on May 24.
On June 3rd
a group of Rotarians were present at his Homegoing Celebration at the Second
Baptist Church in Los Angeles. President
Paul Leoni presented a well stated and warm reflection from all of us that
covered Clarence’s prowess, cited by Bill Fritzsche years ago, as the
“Howard Cosell of Invocateurs.” Nat
Trives was an Honorary Pallbearer and Deacon Clyde Smith performed the role of
Active Pallbearer. June Doy and
Marvin Levin and I were moved observers of an outpouring of love and devotion
where he was described as a Person, a Pastor and a Preacher who had touched us
all. Bishops, Pastors, friends and
family celebrated this loving man who spent 88 years with us, 36 as an involved
Santa Monica Rotarian.
My closing thought on this dear man was that “Fight On” might be too belligerent a motto for him now. For he his “strife is o’er; the battle done.” The Trojan motto might be changed for now for our dear Clarence to “Rest On!”
Bill Crookston