Coy Clement February 17, 1950 - January 17, 2024
Coy Lynn Clement passed away unexpectedly on January 17, 2024, exactly one month before his 74th birthday. Coy was an extraordinarily kind and loving friend, husband, father, and “BaBa”, and his family misses him, and the thoughtfulness, generosity, and support he brought to their lives, deeply.
Coy was born on February 17, 1950 in Fort Worth, Texas. His lifelong intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for learning was something that developed at an early age. He would spend hours on end at the public library, reading history books and biographies and learning about science and engineering. As a kid and teenager, he enjoyed visiting, and eventually getting a part-time job with, the Fort Worth Children’s Museum (now the Museum of Science and History), where his love of learning blossomed.
He received one of 168 National Merit Scholarships in 1968 and, after high school graduation, chose to attend Rice University in Houston; he was the first person in his family to go to college. In 1972, Coy graduated summa cum laude from Rice with a degree in English literature. While at Rice, he supported himself by writing and photographing campus events for university publications and local media. His writing portfolio ended up leading him into business, where he got a job at Radio Shack writing catalog text.
His job at Radio Shack started what would end up being a successful and fulfilling career in direct marketing and mail order. He worked for, and eventually ran, direct-to-consumer companies across the country. In 1999, he opened his own consulting practice called clementDIRECT, specializing in catalogs, retail, and database marketing. Throughout his 40+ year career, Coy served as a mentor and advisor to people in his industry, many of whom remained long-lasting friends.
Despite his successful career, Coy would say his greatest accomplishment was his family: his wife Nancy, his daughter Katie, his son-in-law Matthew Filter, and his beloved grandsons, Theodore and Henry Filter. Coy met Nancy in western Michigan, and they were married in her hometown of Glencoe, Illinois on June 24, 1978. They welcomed Catherine, whom they called Katie, in October of 1982 while they were living in New Hampshire. Due to Coy’s career, the three of them moved frequently during Katie’s childhood, and as a result made lifelong friends from across the country, especially in Bellevue, Washington, Hudson, Ohio, and East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Moving around so frequently served to create a very tight bond between Coy, Nancy, and Katie, and Katie counted both her parents as best friends, especially in adulthood.
In 2007, Coy and Nancy “pre-tired” to the Governors Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Coy continued consulting but scaled back his business gradually until he fully retired in 2016. At the Governors Club, he was thrilled to be within walking distance of the fitness center and tennis courts, where he could frequently be found either playing tennis, or watching tennis on television while using the elliptical machine. He and Nancy loved dining with friends and family at the Clubhouse, and Coy particularly loved attending classical music performances there.
Coy loved his basement media room, where he (together often with Katie, Nancy, and/or Matt) would watch television shows and movies, often with a glass of good red wine in hand. His TV and movie interests were broad (kung fu, “The Wire”, Hitchcock, “The Maltese Falcon”, Pixar, “Chinatown”, the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy…) and he always had the latest technology (Sonos surround sound! 4K Ultra HD!) which his family didn’t really understand, but he loved.
He was an accomplished and self-taught cook and baker (which was not Nancy’s strong suit, so it worked out well) and could often be found in the kitchen making his “famous” muffins, pizza, bread, omelets, etc. He was a voracious reader, and knew everything about everything. He loved classical music, particularly chamber music, and delighted not just in listening to it but in understanding it, and sharing it with people he loved.
Coy and Nancy were elated when Katie and Matt moved to Durham, North Carolina in 2016; they happily helped them get settled in their apartment and, eventually, their first home. Coy and Matt developed a true friendship, bonding over their shared interests in movies, music, history, books, and wine, and Coy truly loved Matt as a son. After Nancy passed away in June 2020, Coy, Katie, and Matt became even closer, supporting each other through challenges and celebrating each other’s wins. A particularly happy time was being together for trips to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Amelia Island, Florida, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Coy became a grandpa (or “BaBa”, a nickname Teddy used and Coy proudly accepted) for the first time in September 2021, and then again in August 2023, and he absolutely adored his grandsons Teddy and Henry. Coy was thoughtful about creating traditions for his grandsons in the spirit of their Grandma Nancy, including assembling Easter baskets and buying an advent calendar with dog treats for the boys to share with their dogs, Lucy and Bookie, around Christmas. He loved looking for gifts he thought they’d like, and in fact, Teddy’s ongoing love of fire trucks can be traced to a set of wooden vehicles BaBa bought him in 2022. Coy was delighted that Teddy had become an enthusiastic “reader” beginning at age two, and he bought him many books including “I Love You to the Moon and Back” and Britannica’s Baby Encyclopedia. Coy showed off photos and stories of his grandsons to anyone and everyone. They were his joy and he was excited to see them grow and discover the world.
Without Coy, life is less interesting - he was an encyclopedia in human form, and always had a fact or anecdote to share to bring information or stories alive. Coy was surprising - especially in retirement, he was mostly a jeans and t-shirt or exercise clothes kind of guy, which made it all the more wonderful when he wore a cheerful red Hawaiian shirt to Katie and Matt’s casual wedding rehearsal dinner. Coy was thoughtful - from texting to acknowledge significant dates such as Katie and Matt’s “engage-a-versary” and Lucy’s “Gotcha Day” to sharing links to news articles (Katie could count on him sending her Joe Morgenstern’s Wall Street Journal movie reviews every Friday until Morgenstern retired in 2022), he was always thinking of the people about whom he cared.
Coy was so very many things - strong, resilient, kind, and incredibly generous. But most importantly - Coy was very loved. He will be missed dearly, and remembered always.
In lieu of flowers, we invite you to make a donation in Coy’s name to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, a place that, as a child, served to inspire his curiosity and lifelong love of learning. The summer learning programs in which he participated as a young boy - now called “Museum School” - are celebrating their 75th year of providing informal, experiential science education to Fort Worth youth.
https://www.clementsfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Coy-Lynn-Clement?obId=30530970#/obituaryInfo
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Janie Letson (Goodman)
I loved every word written in memory of Coy. What a wonderful tribute to him. Very sorry for your loss!
Robert Mefford
Coy and Mike Alexander were my two best friends in high school. Coy's intelligence was unmatched as he was one of only a handful of National Merit finalists in the country. Although he wasn't up for Valedictorian (I think he made a B in typing), he helped me study for the test. I didn't get it, but I thanked him much as a comrade. He went to Rice and, although I went to A&M, we would visit each other on occasion. After college, we stayed in touch and he made a fabulous dinner for me and Sherry after we got married. He eventually moved to the Northeast and I lost touch. I recently tried to track him down and found the obit you see posted.
Thanks again Coy for being a friend.
John Marietta
What a tribute to Coy! My fondest memory was during my freshman year in college when Coy, Tommy Cropper, and I took our favorite teacher, Betty Quimby, to dinner at Steak and Ale to show her our appreciation for her incredible teaching. Remember how we reconstructed the Republican National Convention!
Knowing Coy was a blessing for us all.
John Marietta
Jim Cozby
Janie is right... that write-up is a "celebration of life" for Coy. He was smart and seemed interested in everything. Even his photos seem to say, "I know something you don't know", and of course he does! We had lots of amazing people is our class. I appreciate all of you.
Ab Jenkins
I also agree with Janie. What a wonderful tribute to a life well lived. In addition, I agree with Jim in that we had the privilege of going to school with some incredible people. I just wish that I had stayed in touch with more of you/them through the years. God bless.
Earl Freeman
I spoke with Coy 3 or 4 times over the last few years. In our youth we lived a block away from each other on Lovell Avenue in Fort Worth. Many times his mother would drive Coy, Kathy Warfield, and me to class at Arlington Heights Elementary School. In those early years after studies Coy and I would occasionally play croquet in his backyard. Over the years as our interests changed we gradually drifted apart. During our last conversation in 2023 Coy shared that he was having back issues along with other ailments. It was great to finally reconnect and share our blessings. May God rest his soul. 🙏🙏❤️❤️
Kathy Dana (Fuquay)
After knowing and working with Coy on the Yellow Jacke staff, it came as no surprise to me that he had a very successful life, both professionally and personally. He was the personification of intelligence, so interested in so many things and to top it all off, a really nice guy. Well done Coy! You will be missed.