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Memorable Manitobans: Rodney Stewart “Rod” Clement (1919-1969)
Farmer, rancher, implement dealer, MLA (1950-1953), MLA (1954-1957), MLA (1958-1959), MLA (1966-1969). Born at Russell on 30 September 1919, son of Frank Clement (1888-1977) and Margaret May Johnston, during the Second World War he served as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He continued to fly after the war, operating the first privately-owned helicopter in Manitoba. He was a director of the Manitoba Motor Dealers Association. He was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1949 and was re-elected in 1953 and 1958. In the 1966 provincial election he defeated Robert Gordon Smellie after losing to him in the 1959 general election. He jumped to federal politics in 1968, running in the Marquette constituency, but was defeated by Craig Stewart. In 1940, he married Ethel Louise Jackson (1921-2016) and they had two sons and a daughter. He was a member of the Elks, Masons, and Kiwanis Club (President). He died at Winnipeg on 9 March 1969 and was buried in the Russell Memorial Garden. Sources:Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics. “The Clement story” in Banner County: History of Russell & District, 1879-1967 by Russell Women's Institute, c1967, “Ex-MLA Clement dies In hospital at 49,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 March 1969, page 3. Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 11 March 1969, page 26. Obituary [Ethel Louise Clement], Russell Banner, 1 November 2016, page 16. Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society. We thank Oliver Bernuetz (Legislative Library of Manitoba) for providing additional information used here. This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough. Page revised: 27 January 2022
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