I am traveling today, and it did not take me long to decide what old post to once again share with our readers today. That is because yesterday was the funeral of Clarence Schirmer, a longtime local resident who will be dearly missed in East Perry County. I know there are at least 3 characteristics that I am going to miss about not having Clarence Schirmer around anymore. First, I am going to miss Clarence’s genuine East Perry County German accent. I loved to listen to him talk. Secondly, we are all going to miss having a great local historian. If anyone around here had any questions about what went on around here in the past, Clarence was the guy to ask. Third, our church is going to miss a man who so faithfully sat in a pew in Trinity Lutheran Church on Sunday mornings.
Clarence Eugene Schirmer was born on November 24, 1931, the son of Rudolph and Alma (Kutscher) Schirmer. His father is one of the Schirmer boys highlighted in today’s attached post. Clarence was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at his baptism record pictured here.
Clarence was confirmed right after World War II came to an end in 1946. His confirmation record is also found in the books of Trinity, Altenburg, which is shown below.
As you can see, his confirmation verse was Psalm 37:5. Since Clarence probably first heard this verse from the King James Version, I will use that translation here. It was Rev. Adolph Vogel who must have placed his hand on Clarence’s head and read these words specifically chosen by him for Clarence to carry with him in his memory throughout his lifetime.
“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
On May 4, 1957, Clarence married Vivian Clara Kassel at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Our marriage records for Salem only go up to the 1930’s, so I am not able to display their church marriage record. Clarence and Vivian went on to have 5 children, including a set of twin girls.
If you are interested in reading Clarence’s obituary, it can be found by clicking on the link below.
https://www.fordandsonsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Clarence-E-Schirmer?obId=49228351
Here is the photo that was placed with his obituary.
I heard a great testimony about Clarence at his funeral today when someone said, “When Clarence spoke, you could count on it being something worth listening to.”
I love this old photo that was displayed in the attached post which shows Clarence as a young boy looking out the window of his father’s truck.
I can only imagine what Clarence is seeing now while looking at his new heavenly home.