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Cledice Decker - Year Entered 1959

Cledice Decker

Cledice Jewell Decker

April 29, 1939 - June 9, 2021
 



 
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06/09/21 11:57 AM #1    

Dean Smith (1964)

I met Cledice when I was a co-worker at AC back in 1960's in "singles" group activities in Pasadena. When we reconnected later at the 2013 and 2015 AC reunions she was the same sincere and kind person I knew nearly 50 years ago, always involved and serving others.


06/09/21 07:06 PM #2    

Bob Gerringer (1967)

I posted this on the GMF this morning, June 9, 2021, about an hour after Cledice's death:

 

Cledice died this morning at 6:45 a.m. in a hospice facility in Altadena, California.  She was 82.

When the small first AC Pasadena Reunion ended in Las Vegas in February 2013, Cledice was the first to tell me she would be happy to help with the 2015 Reunion to be held in Pasadena.  And so, for 8+ years she has been an invaluable partner in this endeavor, and, with Jean Updegraff and Eileen McKinley, she has been along for this entire, wonderful AC Pasadena Reunion ride.

At the 2015 Reunion, she managed the Registration process and the Hospitality Room, as well as other responsibilities.  When the website was launched the previous year, in 2014, Cledice took charge of In Memory, and has handled that portion of our website up until now.  Jean volunteered, and so, very shortly, Jean will sadly, and lovingly, add Cledice to In Memory.  We joked that none of us wanted to have to add anyone from the Committee, nor be the first added to In Memory – but of course, joining In Memory is inevitable for all of us as time marches on.

Cledice relished both her enduring, deep 60+ year friendships in the AC/WCG/COG community, and her long dormant, soon-to-be-rekindled friendships from long ago which she was able to renew as a result of this 8+ year old Reunion project.  And, of course, she made many new friends she had never before known.

She had a passion for this Reunion/website project, but this was but one of her many passions, all of which boiled down to generosity and selfless service.  I would not say she was “all business”, but she was not into time-squandering or foolishness – there were things to do and people to help….and time is short.

Cledice Prayer List:  After Dixon and Linda Cartwright retired from and ended The Journal, perhaps the best inter-COG/GCI-denominational communication was Cledice’s “Prayer List”.  There were hundreds on her list.  She kept those on the list primarily informed of folks who wanted/needed prayers, but also those in need of a place to live, other assistance of some kind, and updates on the many she had mentioned.  And, she accepted input from all, and included on the list anyone who would like to be there, regardless of their religious preference or affiliation.

Much more will be added to In Memory for Cledice in due time, but now, on a personal note, this is hard to accept.  I did not know her well in my AC days, but she grew to be a co-worker and close friend these past eight years.  Thank you, Cledice, for your service to all of us, and to so many others.  Thank you for being a dear friend to Connie and me.  You will be missed by all, and certainly very much by me.


06/09/21 10:02 PM #3    

Wil (Wilbur) Berg (1957)

WIL & SUSAN BERG:  Wil expressed concern that Cledice would be "alone" during her last days, but I'm pretty sure there were more than a few angels with Cledice in that hospice room.  In addition, she was cared for by amazing hospice staff and the thoughts and prayers of hundreds of friends.

Through the years we've known her, our friend Cledice served as living proof that one person (by their example) can make a huge difference in this world- especially when their life is lived to the honor and glory of the Great God.  Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of His saints. Ps 116:15.

Cledice finished her race.  Amen and amen. sbb

06/10/21 12:59 PM #4    

Rose Mullay

I met and worked with Cledice in 1967.  She became a good friend.  She was a great worker and very meticulous.  She was always very helpful in teaching me the computer (at that time, they were changing from Keypunch to computers).  Cledice had a good sense of humor.  She was giving and thoughtful and willing to help others.  She was a pleasure to work with.  I was on one of her lists to receive information on who was sick, who died, or who needed assistance. She will truly be missed.


06/13/21 06:41 PM #5    

George Merz (1960)

Anne & George Merz:

Cledice's  colorful and humorous emails were so uplifting. Even our granddaughter enjoyed them.  She also kept us up to date on our classmates leaving this world.  We look forward to our heavenly reunion with her very soon.
 


06/16/21 02:52 PM #6    

Jean Ehlert (Updegraff) (1964)

Cledice Decker (April 29, 1939 – June 9, 2021)

Tributes and comments from the General Message Forum of our website

 

06/01/21 12:41 PM

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Bob Gerringer (1967)

CLEDICE DECKER:

I visited Cledice last night at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

On May 12, she had a minor stroke, followed by a hospital stay and surgery to implant a stent into her left carotid artery.  She was released from the hospital May 18.  After she returned home, Connie and I spoke to her a couple of times, the last being this past Friday -- and she sounded strong, and upbeat.

However, yesterday morning, Monday, May 31, she was rushed to the ER after being found unresponsive; she had suffered another stroke, this one described by her doctors as "massive" and "devastating", and they said "there is nothing more we can do for her".  Huntington is now formulating the plan for her hospice care.  And, although the outlook for any recovery is bleak, she is in no discomfort and is being well cared for.

This is very, very sad -- she is a close friend of Connie and me, and has done so much for all of us on the Reunion website -- and that is but one of her many areas of service to others.

I will keep you posted on our AC Reunion Committee member and dear friend, Cledice.

 

 

06/01/21 02:36 PM

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Gary Alexander (1963)

Cledice Decker cares greatly for us all, and we care greatly for her in this time of trial. I pray she is in no pain, as Bob Gerringer assures us.

Cledice was one of a small handful of alumni who immediately sent a check for the rescue of our radio station and, by extension, my program and hobby. I suspect that Cledice has no particular interest in jazz and she is probably not independently wealthy, but she cared enough to write me on March 31: "Hi, Gary. I would like to support your radio station."  God bless Cledice Decker.

 

 

06/09/21 07:42 AM

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Bob Gerringer (1967)

CLEDICE DECKER:

Cledice died this morning at 6:45 a.m. in a hospice facility in Altadena, California.  She was 82.

When the small first AC Pasadena Reunion ended in Las Vegas in February 2013, Cledice was the first to tell me she would be happy to help with the 2015 Reunion to be held in Pasadena.  And so, for 8+ years she has been an invaluable partner in this endeavor, and, with Jean Updegraff and Eileen McKinley, she has been along for this entire, wonderful AC Pasadena Reunion ride.

At the 2015 Reunion, she managed the Registration process and the Hospitality Room, as well as other responsibilities.  When the website was launched the previous year, in 2014, Cledice took charge of In Memory, and has handled that portion of our website up until now.  Jean volunteered, and so, very shortly, Jean will sadly, and lovingly, add Cledice to In Memory.  We joked that none of us wanted to have to add anyone from the Committee, nor be the first added to In Memory – but of course, joining In Memory is inevitable for all of us as time marches on.

Cledice relished both her enduring, deep 60+ year friendships in the AC/WCG/COG community, and her long dormant, soon-to-be-rekindled friendships from long ago which she was able to renew as a result of this 8+ year old Reunion project.  And, of course, many new friends she had never before known.

She had a passion for this Reunion/website project, but this was but one of her many passions, all of which boiled down to generosity and selfless service.  I would not say she was “all business”, but she was not into time-squandering or foolishness – there were things to do and people to help….and time is short.

Cledice Prayer List:  After Dixon and Linda Cartwright retired from and ended The Journal, perhaps the best inter-COG/GCI-denominational communication was Cledice’s “Prayer List”.  There were hundreds on her list.  She kept those on the list primarily informed of folks who wanted/needed prayers, but also those in need of a place to live, other assistance of some kind, and updates on the many she had mentioned.  And, she accepted input from all, and included on the list anyone who would like to be there, regardless of their religious preference or affiliation.

Much more will be added to In Memory for Cledice in due time, but now, on a personal note, this is hard to accept.  I did not know her well in my AC days, but she grew to be a co-worker and close friend these past eight years.  Thank you, Cledice, for your service to all of us, and to so many others.  Thank you for being a dear friend to Connie and me.  You will be missed by all, and certainly very much by me.

 

 

06/09/21 11:22 AM

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Ingrid Satermo Helge (1959)

Our dear friend Cledice has passed, as was already noted by the Gerringer's.  We had heard of  her stroke about a week ago.  A few days later when Ralph I visited her at Huntington Hospital her eyes were open and she blinked off and on at us.  She reached out to my hand and squeezed it.  Before I knew it I was singing the Twenty Third Psalm - one of the most beautiful and comforting Psalms, and I hope it gave her some comfort.  Cledice was one of the first friends I made when entering Ambassador College.  We were Freshmen and roommates and remained friends through the years.  She loved going on Garden Tours in the Spring and would invite me to go along as we both love flowers and the fun of picking out a new plant or two available for free.  She had a large "family" of friends who loved her and will miss her. 

 

 

06/09/21 12:24 PM

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Dennis Johnson (1968)

Cledice Decker

Cledice was one of the few people from her AC era who I knew and who knew who I was.  I met her my senior when I was working in the map section of Church Administration Department in 1971.  When a new church was proposed, the process was to identify all of the Zipcodes that might be affected.  I would take the list of Zipcodes to Cledice.  She and Judy Crain were the only keypunch operators who could access the member files.  She or Judy would keypunch the Zipcodes and produce a list of all members and coworkers who received mail in those Zipcodes.  We, Harold Smith and I would then plot each one on or more detailed map(s).  We could then see where the current members lived and also where the potential growth was.

We then drew the new church boundaries on the map.  If approved, the appropriate Zipcodes would be assigned to the new church and all affected Pastors would be sent new church rosters and church boundaries.

After graduation, I was hired by Fred Peace into the new Information Services Department.  There I did the hexadecimal coding for sophisticated marketing searches on the file, primarily for GTA's Wake Up America tour.

Cledice or Judy were always most accommodating.  Sorry to hear of her stroke and death.

 

06/10/21 04:55 AM

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Bill Hughes (1966)

My Story:  A Later Life Connection with Cledice

 I knew Cledice from the old days working at ACDPC (Data Processing, 1969-1976).

In 1967, I replaced John Karlson on rhythm guitar in the AC Big Band as he graduated to enter the field ministry (Germany) and Carol Stephenson took over as pianist for Dean Smith who also graduated.  

The 2013 Reunion was organized for Band Director Joe Bauer whom I learned in June 2011 had lung cancer.

I don't know how, but Carol quickly found out about my plan for a Joe Bauer reunion and wrote:  "I'm In!".  Gail Roberts told me not to call it an 'AC Band and Friends Reunion' because some would not come if they didn't know a band member.  In hindsight, Gail was right.  I later learned some people didn't attend because they thought it was only a Band reunion.  My greatest fear was people would hear about it after the fact and wish they had known in time to attend.  Some were probably suspicious wondering about an Ambassador Report (AR) publisher partnering with Carol Stephenson (a COG member) to have an AC Reunion.

Joe died Xmas day, 2011, seven weeks before the scheduled event.  Consequently, to have time to find more people from dirt scratch we held that reunion February, 2013 at the Orleans in Las Vegas where Joe wanted it (he lived in Orange, CA).  The reunion opened up a whole lot of AC acquaintances and opportunities. 

At the end of the reunion dinner my age-old pal from Data Processing, Bob Gerringer, stood to ask if anyone was interested in another reunion to be held in Pasadena, in one, two or three years.  The unanimous vote was TWO years.

Clearly, a lot of water had passed under the bridge. Out of the ACR2013 attendees, Cledice Decker, Jean Ehlert (trombone), Eileen McKinley, and pal Carol Stephenson all joined Bob's committee to make the blockbuster ACR2015 Pasadena Reunion possible.  That success led to the All Campus ACR2017 reunion, of which Cledice continued to be a committee member to help organize..   

In 2014, she invited me to join Harry Curley and his wife Cynthia DuBry at their Altadena home for dinner.  On subsequent year trips I saw Cledice at Bob's home.  It is ironic that Bob, also a publisher of the AR, organized the ACR2015 and ACR2017 reunions with the same committee members who attended ACR2013, every one being members of different COG churches.

Cledice visited me in Liberty Lake twice at different times.  She flew to Spokane to assist a friend who lived in Athol, ID whose husband died and needed to prepare her house for sale.  On Cledice’s first visit she made this point to me:  "Bill, everybody is different."

Cledice was the genuine down-to-earth article, a human jewel who I was looking forward to seeing in September.  She was a friend to many, many people.  I salute and will miss her.

Bill, Liberty Lake, WA

 

 

06/10/21 07:30 AM

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Charles Daniels (1971)

CLEDICE DECKER MEMORIES

Very touched by all the reflections and memories shared about Cledice. I did not know her, however, all that has been shared by those who did, helps one appreciate the exemplary life she lived in giving and serving others. It appears she truly internalized and exemplified the positive "how to live" and not just "how to make a living" attributes we were taught in our youth at AC. 

Once again, thanks to all who shared their personal experiences with Cledice. I appreciate what she contributed behind the scenes as a Forum and Reunion Committee Member, making it possible for us to reconnect as AC Alumni 40-50 years later. 

 

 

06/10/21 09:50 AM

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Terry Schreiber (Beaver) (1966)

I just noticed that Cledice's middle name is Jewell.  How fitting for our jewel of a friend. 

John and I have often thought of her being like Dorcus of Acts 9:36-42.  "this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did."   She may be one of the few women mentioned in 'our version'  of the Bible of our times.  ???

 

06/10/21 04:02 PM

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Randy Schreiber (1968)

Cledice is certainly leaving a hole in the world today - but there is no doubt that she will be helping Christ fill the holes in the World Tomorrow!

I called Cledice the "Church of God Google" as she kept us informed of what was happening [in a POSITIVE WAY} with virtually all those assiciated with the various COG groups.

I appreciate the comments about her on this Forum. Don't we all wish that when our time comes we could have such nice things said about us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9itzdS5YeY

Randy

 

 

06/10/21 07:20 PM

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Jim Roberts (1967)

Quick Comment: So appreciate tributes to Cledice as posted. Want to find a window to add my own honors to this immaculate lady, a very close, long and dear friend. Feel like I have lost another Mom.

. . .

 

06/10/21 07:40 PM

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Jean Ehlert (Updegraff) (1964)

A Special Tribute to Cledice Decker

I have known Cledice for many years but I really got to know the “behind the scenes” Cledice during the last eight years when we worked together on the AC reunions and this website.  At the small 2013 reunion (which began as an AC Band reunion) the attendees there wanted to have a big reunion in Pasadena in 2015 and Cledice volunteered to help.  Since Cledice worked for years in WCG’s Member Services and knew so many people, she was a valuable resource in finding people, contacting them, etc. to help to establish the website and make it the best it could be.   As Bob Gerringer has written, she filled various tasks with diligence for our website and reunions.

For our website she dedicated herself to the “In Memory” section that sadly is growing too fast.  Cledice spent considerable time and effort emailing people, phoning them, etc. to verify the death info and tried to locate obituaries to add if available.  Cledice wanted to provide the best tribute for those “In Memory.”     In addition, she served many others both through her email distribution list to help those in need and through personal service such as visiting, shopping for and assisting others in various ways.   As Randy Schreiber so aptly put it, she will leave a big hole.  I feel privileged to have been able to work with her and have her as a good friend.  Cledice was one of a kind and in the best sense possible.   She leaves behind a legacy of living a life that exemplified Christian values including steadfast service to God and others in her own humble and dedicated way.  She will be missed by many.

 

06/10/21 08:56 PM

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Judith E. Faver (McNeil) (1964)

          Cledis Decker

We knew Cledis well when we were in Pasadena and throughput the years following.  I have only known and heard positive things about her from the beginning.  She most definitely was a shining example of dedication and service for others.  We are saddened to know she is no longer with us.   

 

06/12/21 04:24 AM

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Linda Hart (Wornat) (1965)

IN MEMORY OF CLEDICE DECKER:

Lyndel and I have such fond memories of spending time with CLEDICE at the 2013 and 2015 reunions and working with her on several "In Memory" posts.  She was always so kind, gentle, quiet, ready to serve and full of love.  She made a big mark on acpasadenareunion.com and will always be fondly remembered.

 

 


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