Obituary of Clarence Robert Buersmeyer

Clarence Robert Buersmeyer Jr. (97) passed away peacefully of natural causes in Boise, Idaho on May 14^th, 2023, with his loving family by him.

Clarence was born July 12, 1925, to Clarence and Hermina Buersmeyer, in Jefferson City, Missouri. He grew up in a German enclave of Jefferson City called Little Munichburg, where he was the oldest of four brothers. The four brothers spent a lot of time outdoors hunting, fishing, and camping. Their dad’s motto was “Stay out of Trouble.” The Buersmeyer family had lots of close family members living nearby and they enjoyed many family gatherings and BBQs.

After high school, in July of 1943, Clarence enlisted in the Navy in the middle of World War II. He was an Aviation Ordnance Man 1^st Class and completed Radar Operators School. In May of 1946, after serving just over 3 years, he was honorably discharged and subsequently enrolled in technical school studying electronics.

After technical school, Clarence went to work for Zenith Corporation in Chicago using what he learned from electronics school. After working at Zenith Corporation, he went on to work for Burroughs Corporation in Chicago (one of the original computer companies in the world) as a computer engineer, doing one of his favorite things, troubleshooting computer issues. He was the original IT nerd.

Clarence met his wife, Joy, while on a group weekend trip with the St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Chicago. During that first weekend on a lake in Wisconsin, they discovered they had many common interests, including fishing, hunting, ice skating and listening to jazz. Clarence ‘sold the deal’ to get married, when Joy, upon returning home at 2 am after visiting her parents in Wallingford, CT, found Clarence sitting on the stoop of her apartment waiting for her. They have been married 66 years and have five children – Bob, Mary, Patty, Carl, and Kevin. Between 1959 and 1965, the family moved many times for the Burroughs Corporation, from Chicago to Burns, OR, then Hastings, NB, then Baker, OR (before Baker became Baker City), then San Francisco, CA, and finally to Boise, Idaho where Clarence found the perfect place to live for his family, his hobbies and interests.

Clarence was a true renaissance man who had a wide variety of interests including hunting, fishing (Joy always caught the most when they fished together), camping with the family, rock collecting, painting with watercolors, target shooting, cartridge reloading, tying flies for fishing, bird watching, BBQing, woodcarving and operating his ham radio. Clarence was an avid reader with his favorites being mathematics, electronics, and history books, astronomy, amateur radio, and the Missouri Conservationist Magazine. He also kept himself busy with his garden, building and using a 12-inch Dobsonian refracting telescope and just fixing about anything. Or, as he would say, “almost fixin’ things.”  He did all these hobbies and interests extremely well and was still reading, solving math problems, and building models up to the final weeks of his life. Friends and family always marveled at his intelligence. As his wife Joy has been known to say, “his brain is incredible, he solves mathematical problems just for fun.” After retirement from Burroughs, he went back to college at Boise State University to study painting and relearn German, just for fun.

His family meant so much to him. He attended most of his children’s school games and events, including attending practices, and driving the kids on the weekends to go skiing at Bogus Basin. He always made sure his wife, Joy, could do the things she enjoyed. He was very proud of Joy and what she did for the City of Boise, as well as her volunteerism. She served two terms on the Boise City Council, was Director of Community House, business administrator for the local Salvation Army, President of the Idaho League of Women Voters and much, much more. He was also very proud of his children and grandchildren and their accomplishments.

Clarence was preceded in death by his parents (Clarence and Hermina) and his brothers (Jim and Mike). He is survived by his beloved wife, Joy, his children Bob, Mary, Patty, Carl, Kevin (Laureen) and his grandchildren, Chris (Zoe), Katharine, Ian, and Diana.

The family is very appreciative of the care provided at the Terraces of Boise and by St. Luke’s Hospice.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) Foundation Scholarship Program, the national association for amateur radio:

https://www.arrl.org/

http://www.arrl.org/arrl-foundation-donation-form

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