Skeet shooter Clement dead at 91
Jim Clement was one of Peterborough’s top trap and skeet shooters over a career that spanned more than 60 years.
Clement, who was inducted into the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame (PDSHF) in 2011, died on Monday at the age of 91. Hall of Fame chair Pat Bronson said Clement was a regular visitor to the hall’s Tuesday and Thursday morning coffee group and a real gentleman.
According to the PDSHF, Clement was born in Peterborough in 1933 and started rifle shooting at the age of 13, leading to a lifetime of competitive shooting.
“He was the youngest competitor to ever shoot at the national championships. Along with his father Dave, he was a member of the 1951 Canadian Outdoor Match Rifle Team, taking home first-place honours. He was the 1959 Barrie Skeet Club Champion; the 1964 and 1965 Twelve Gauge AA Skeet Shooting Ontario Champion and the 1965 Capital of Canadian AA Skeet Champion,” Clement’s biography of the PDSHF website reads.
“In 1965, he shot 100 out of 100 at the Peterborough Skeet Shooting Championships. This was the first time a perfect score had ever been recorded at the club. From 1959 to 1965, he dominated the Peterborough 12 Gauge Skeet Championships. He was the Peterborough Trap champion in 1977, 1981, 1982, 1988 and 1994. He shot with the Peterborough team when it won the Quinte League Championships from 1989 to 1998 and again in 2005,” his biography reads.
“He competed in the Quinte Trap League for 40 years. In 2010 at the age of 77, he was presented with the Senior of the Year Award and was honoured with the Rose Gordon Memorial Award for his longstanding commitment to the Quinte Club. He won the 2010 trap shooting handicap by hitting 24 of 25 birds from 20 yards.”
Clement was a tool and die maker with General Electric for more than 40 years.
He was also a longtime member of both the Peterborough and Cobourg gun clubs.
He is predeceased by his wife, Joyce, and is survived by his children, Randy (Donna) and Lee Anne Thorne (Larry), three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Clement was also predeceased by his grandson Terry Hurl, brother Alfred and sister Kay.
Cremation has taken place. A celebration of Clement’s life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Lakefield Animal Welfare Society.