Kemp Funeral Home & Cremation Services
24585 Evergreen Rd Southfield, MI 48075 (Link)
Viewing 4-7pm Friday, September
30th, 2022
Homegoing: 12-1:30pm Saturday, October 1st, 2022
Repast: 2-5pm The Meeting Space 21620 Melrose Ave/Bldg H, Southfield MI 48075
Interment: Cremation at the request of Walter Robert Clement
GoFundMe Page for Walter R. Clement (Link)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a wicked disease that once contracted, there is no cure to reverse the symptoms. It was named Lou Gehrig’s disease after he contracted it while he was playing professional baseball with the New York Yankees. He was the first well known person to come down with the it and that is why it’s named ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease.
According
to the ALS Foundation of Michigan it is estimated that there are between 800 - 1,000 people with ALS (pALS) and 200 who are newly diagnosed
on an annual basis in the State. It may be hereditary in
families and, Michigan has one of the highest rates of cases in the USA. Medical professionals sometimes will perform
procedures and totally miss the symptoms of ALS.
Website: www.alsofmichigan.org/about-als/
Walter was diagnosed in 2018 and by September 2019, Walter showed a small limp when he was walking. He was able to drive cross country from New Mexico to Detroit for dad’s cremation ceremony. By April of 2022 he was 100% disabled and unable to use any of his limbs. The trauma from ALS of being able to think clearly while your body deteriorates around you is very depressing. One of the treatments for the symptoms of ALS is Medical Marijuana. In Michigan and New Mexico Marijuana is accepted form of treatment for the pain.
Walter
was a strong opponent of Marijuana in the beginning. Walter was very athletic
since he was child. He learned how to swim at Johnson Recreation Center in
Detroit Michigan. He was a true athlete from the neighborhood that ran track
and swam for Mumford High School. His specialty race was the one mile run and
he often was a part of relay teams that won many medals. After attending Ferris State University on a track
scholarship, Walter returned to Detroit joined the Detroit Police Department
and worked there for 35 years. In the
interim he worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections for two years. He
was the first African American to be a member of the Harbormaster unit working
in the Detroit River recovering bodies and managing boat traffic during events
like the fireworks and air races on the riverfront. As a member of the Special
Response Team, he was often called on to deal with situations that required a tactical
solution.
After Walter retired from DPD, he moved to New Mexico and rode his motorcycle all the United States of America. He also taught college level classes to students all over the world. When the symptom’s started to get worse, Walter was reluctant to use Marijuana as a medicine. When he tried it, he was very impressed with it because it treated his pain effectively. It allowed him to sleep and feel better the next day.
Towards the end of his life, he radically changed his view about Marijuana and became one of my biggest supporters. Walter supported decriminalization of Marijuana and expungements of existing convictions for “the crime of cannabis”. He would often tell others that he was wrong about his brother Richard’s cause to Free the Weed for the jobs we need. He hoped that I would open a marijuana business for profit, I explained to him that I was doing it because it was the right thing to do. I was so happy that I took him to Detroit Tiger baseball games and missed taking him to a Detroit Lions game where he worked the sidelines providing security.
Walter
Robert Clement died on his mother’s birthday of September 19th in
his sleep. When I touched Walter’s body, he was so cold but, I knew all the
hearts he warmed up with his wit, knowledge, and sense of caring for others. He
truly will be missed by all his friends and colleagues. His wife Saundra Eddie is a real superhero and deserves blessing for staying with him while others would
have run away.
by Richard C. Clement
