Chuck Clement (1941-2021)
Charles W. “Chuck” Clement, 79, a 43-year resident of Beacon, died Oct. 20 at his home.
Chuck was born Dec. 26, 1941, in Baltimore, the son of William and Edith (Kerkendyl) Clement. On June 2, 1973, at West Point, he married Bernadette Hayden.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1980, when he was honorably discharged as a master sergeant. During his 20 years of service, he was awarded numerous medals, including a Bronze Star, Commendation Medal and Army Good Conduct Award.
After his discharge, Chuck worked as a computer analyst at West Point and at IBM. He was a parishioner of St. Joachim–St. John the Evangelist Church in Beacon and also a member of the Southern Dutchess Country Club.
In addition to his wife, Charles is survived by his son, Darrin Clement of New Hampshire; his grandchildren, Nadia Clement, Grace Clement and Alex Daum; and his sister, Barbara Summers. His son, Eric Clement, and daughter, Brigett Clement, died before him.
Services were private. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
Bette Darcy (1919-2021)
Elizabeth “Bette” Darcy, 102, of Spring Hill, Florida, and formerly of Beacon, died Oct. 26.
She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Aug. 3, 1919, the second of three daughters of Harry and Mary (Tracy) Smith. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Cathedral High School with honors. In 1940, she married Peter Darcy Sr. and relocated to Beacon. He died in 1975.
During World War II, Bette was employed at the New York Rubber Co. in Beacon assembling rubber boats for the war effort. She later worked for the New York Telephone Co., and after 32 years of service, retired in 1983 as an administrative assistant. Bette was a member of the Cathedral High School Alumni and the New York Telephone Pioneers.
She is survived by her children, Maureen Bierwiler (with whom she made her home), Betty Grantham (Bobby) of Texas, Peter Darcy (Beverly) and Dean Darcy (Michelle) of Georgia, and her daughter-in-law, Judy Thomas of Cold Spring. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Bette was a member of St. Joachim’s Church in Beacon and St. Theresa’s Church in Spring Hill, Florida. She also attended Mass at the Chapel at Castle Point while her late son, Bob, was a patient there.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held Oct. 29 at St. Joachim Church, followed by interment at St. Joachim Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corps (beaconvac.org), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org) or a charity of choice.
Julia Oken (1930-2021)
Julia B. Oken, 90, a resident of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and formerly of Cold Spring and Fishkill, died Oct. 28.
She was born Dec. 12, 1930, in Brooklyn, the daughter of Howard and Hannah (Frieda) Welch. She graduated from Haldane High School in 1948. After attending business college, she worked at the Dutchess Ski Area and McGleasson Real Estate in its accounting office.
On June 9, 1957, Julia married Edward Oken, who died in 1995. She was a member of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance and of B’nai B’rith and Hadassah.
She is survived by her children, Michael Oken (Jane) of Kelseyville, California; Carl Oken (Catherine) of Fishkill and Wilda Oken of Lawrenceville; her grandchildren, Theresa Lewis (Keith), Samantha Treece (Tony), Allyson Woolley (Terran), Max Oken (Cate), Shana Oken (Jevante Sweat) and Amanda Oken (Mitch Rice); and her great-grandchildren, Riley, Ryan, Cayla, Casey, Margot, Annabell, Jayson, Julien and Cara. She also is survived by her longtime caregiver, Hyacinth Brown.
Family and friends will gather on Monday (Nov. 1) from 4 to 8 p.m. at Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey in Beacon. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday (Nov. 2) at 10 a.m. at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance Cemetery in Fishkill.
Memorial donations may be made to the Beacon Hebrew Alliance’s Building Fund (beaconhebrewalliance.org).
