Clarence C. Fowler, 73, Holdingford
June 10, 1947 – May 21, 2021
Clarence C. Fowler, age 73, of Holdingford, MN, an International Man of Mystery passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, May 21st, 2021.
Clarence was born June 10th, 1947 in Bennington, VT to Emily (Demainiw) and Charles Fowler.
He spent time as a child between Bennington VT, Gorham, ND and the Holdingford area. He graduated from Holdingford high school in 1966 where he was a 3-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. He attended St. Cloud State University for a short period of time before he voluntarily enlisted into the U.S. Army. He was a member of the 5th Mechanized Infantry (Red Diamond) serving a tour in Vietnam.
After 2 years, 9 months and 15 days he was honorably discharged from the Army. He then returned home enrolling at St. Cloud vocational school where he became an electrician. He took those skills and became a staff electrician at St. John’s University in 1973 where he worked for 39 years until his retirement in July, 2012. This resulted in a “coupon deal” for his 4 kids’ higher education.
Clarence was married April 15th, 1972 to Leone Meier at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Holdingford, MN. They purchased the Hugo Voss estate in 1973 using the money Clarence had saved during his time in the military. He was quite proud that he used his money to buy the land rather than buy a fast car like many of his peers returning from the war. He would smile and say, “They all crashed those cars”. He thought he couldn’t “crash” his land investment.
His 12 acres was his little slice of heaven. It was tucked away far enough where he could have some gun play and burn whatever he wanted. He posited that “If you get it hot enough, ANYTHING will burn”.
His four children and grandkids kept him busy with hunting, fishing and all of their sports. He attended many a football game, swim meet and track events over the years. He was also a member of the Holdingford Volunteer Fire Department for many years.
He is survived by his wife, Leone, his sisters; Kathryn (Bill) Stangler of Brainerd, Dora (Gerald) Grams of St. Cloud, Valerie Brassor (Sheldon) of Willmington Vermont, Cassie Bell of West Virginia, his children, Jacob Fowler (Carla), Eric Fowler (Amy), Sarah Fowler, Charles Fowler, and five grandchildren; Isaac, Makenna, Tyler, Lily and Louise.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Emily & Charles, his half-brother Jay Fowler, along with infant grandson, Caden Fowler.
Clarence will be cremated. A Memorial Service will be held at The Landing in St. Anna, MN on Friday, May 28th. A “Happy Hour” will begin @ 3pm with the service to begin @ 4pm. A private family interment will be held at a later date.