Chester Earl Clem, Jr.

Chester Earl Clem, Jr. lived a life guided by his devotion to family, service, hard work, and always following his conscience.

Born on December 28, 1937, in Sanford, Florida, Chester was the son of Chester Earl Clem, Sr. of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Ruth Elizabeth (Maddox) Hughes of Fort Meade, Florida. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Gainesville, Florida, where Chester grew up in the historic Duck Pond area of the city’s downtown.

As a young boy, Chester took pride in his paper route and worked odd jobs wherever he could find them. He collected scrap metal for the war effort as a Boy Commando during WWII, helped his father track down old tires to be recapped and resold, and rode his Schwinn bicycle to the local library at every opportunity, where he devoured Zane Grey and other adventure novels. He attended Kirby Smith Elementary School and later Gainesville High School, where he described himself as a “lousy” football player and student, but greatly enjoyed the sporting nickname of “Dirty 30.” He sang baritone in the school choir, eagerly attended dances at the community center, and could often be found socializing at the local drive-in movie theater.

Thanks to the strong will of his mother, Chester enrolled at the University of Florida, an experience that changed the course of his life. There, he joined Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. An enthusiastic member, he could still recite the “Kappa Alpha Rose” song in its entirety through his last days. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and discovered that when he applied himself, he was extremely capable in most of his academic pursuits.

During his first year of college, Chester married his high school sweetheart, Tilley Murphree. Before completing his degree, he fulfilled his Selective Service obligation by enlisting in the U.S. Army, serving six months of active duty, and six years of reserve service, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He returned to Gainesville to graduate with honors in 1959.

Once again guided by his mother’s confidence in him, Chester went on to attend the University of Florida College of Law. He served on the University of Florida Law Review, graduated at the top of his class, magna cum laude, and earned his Bachelor of Laws in 1963. At a time when Florida had relatively few practicing attorneys, Chester obtained two job offers upon graduation: one in Quincy, Florida and one in Vero Beach, Florida. The opportunity to work with the highly respected Robert “Bob” Jackson in Vero Beach, and to raise a family in such a beautiful place, won out, bringing Chester and his growing family to town in 1963. Here, he and Tilley joyfully welcomed three sons between 1963 and 1969: Alexander “Zander” Murphree Clem, Jeffrey “Jeff” Douglas Clem, and Chester Earl Clem III.

Deeply invested in his new community, Chester quickly became an active leader in numerous civic organizations, including the Jaycees, Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, The Hundred Club, and the Boys & Girls Club, to name a few. Professionally, he served as an Assistant State Attorney, President of the Indian River County Bar Association, and as member of the Florida Bar Association, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and the Indian River Estate Planning Council. From 1965 to 1971, he served as the Small Claims Court Judge for Indian River County and as Municipal Judge for the City of Fellsmere.

Chester’s commitment to public service extended to his time spent representing Florida’s 48th District in the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 as an outnumbered Republican. Some of his highlights from this include his appointments to the Appropriations Committee and Criminal Justice Committee. Despite his impressive rise in politics, he left his political ambitions to focus on matters closer to home, particularly raising his three boys. In 1977, he began what would become more than four decades of service as Town Attorney for the Town of Indian River Shores. His political interests were reignited when he later ran for Governor of Florida in 1986, fielding an ambitious, long-shot campaign that reflected his belief in public service and willingness to pursue soaring goals. Simply put, Chester was fearless. After the Villa Spires was built, he also served on Indian River County’s Planning and Zoning Commission and pushed for a four-story moratorium on future buildings. Without Chester’s foresight, Vero Beach could well have ended up like many other Florida coastal cities littered with obtrusive skyrises.

Chester’s fervent devotion to conservatism was lifelong. He helped build Florida’s Republican Party by serving in a variety of leadership roles in the statewide party, including acting as Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He rubbed shoulders with Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and many other national party leaders of the day. He was also tapped to be a National Committeeman from Florida for the Republican National Party. He was widely respected for his Lincolnesque qualities, supreme intellect, and debating skills, often imbuing the Chester-specific combination of frank straightforwardness coupled with humor.

In 1989, Chester married Kay Scott Clem, the love of his later life. In 1992, they welcomed twin daughters, Elizabeth “Liz” Mae Clem and Mary Katherine “Mary Kate” Clem. Chester was unwavering in his support of Kay’s own political career, helping her get elected as Supervisor of Elections for Indian River County, a role she held from 1996 to 2011. Together Chester and Kay enjoyed many happy years raising their daughters in Vero Beach, supporting each other’s careers and aspirations, and almost always laughing. During Kay’s three-year battle with kidney failure in recent years, Chester served as a devoted and tireless caregiver, ensuring she received the best possible care until her passing. One of Chester’s hallmark characteristics was his undying loyalty to family, through all seasons of life.

Professionally, Chester helped form the law firm Clem, Polackwich, Vocelle, & Burg, where he narrowed his focus to estate planning and probate matters. After many successful years, he returned to solo practice, serendipitously, in nearly the same downtown Vero Beach office building where his legal career began decades earlier. He continued working at his office, making sure everything was in order, down to his final days. Chester greatly enjoyed his sixty plus years practicing law locally and the many interesting people he met along the way. While many lawyers narrow their focus to one niche area, Chester was a true “renaissance lawyer” who handled a wide variety of legal matters. He loved practicing law. Even as his health declined, you could always count on Chester “suiting up” and spending time in his law office. Every day.

Most importantly, Chester was a present and loving father. He could often be found in the stands at sports games, both home and away, imparting paternal knowledge and witticisms (his children can all recall the instruction to “buck up” when sulking and many a missive filled with his sharp observations couched with humor and advice), and distributed encouragement, wisdom, and support generously. He took great pride in providing for his family and worked tirelessly to give them the opportunities and security to succeed. His children and grandchildren were his greatest pride.

Chester found joy in simple pleasures and lifelong passions. He loved sailing (until a hurricane washed that chapter away), and he always kept a small bass boat for peaceful trips around Blue Cypress Lake and the Big “M” Canal, often accompanied by his most beloved Labrador, Gracie, as they watched buzzards roost in the cypress trees. A voracious reader, he devoured historical accounts with special interests ranging from World War II histories to the Peloponnesian Wars, along with classic literature, especially Shakespeare, and poetry. Of course, Louis L’Amour westerns could also be found on his shelves throughout his life.

He was deeply committed to fitness. A dedicated runner, he proudly earned his own key to his local gym as the earliest rising and most consistent regular. Even late in life, he would tout his strength and could still beat you at a thumb war, thoroughly savoring each victory.

Known for his sharp wit, commanding presence, integrity, and extraordinary sense of humor, Chester possessed the rare gift of making anyone he spoke with feel important. Friends and family will remember his rip-roaring emceeing for The Hundred Club as well as, much to the chagrin of his young daughters, his unserious antics as “Chief Forked Tongue” in the YMCA’s Indian Princesses. He was stubborn, determined, generous with his time, fiercely loyal, and an unrelenting advocate for his family and friends. He helped friends quietly and without expecting anything in return. His constancy and steadiness in any crisis will be missed.

Hunting was another lifelong love, an interest he shared with his children and grandchildren. In earlier years, that amounted to roughing it in old trailers and enduring arduous treks in the snow out West. In later years, it meant declaring, after two hours in a tree stand (much of it spent napping), that “it’s not called killing, it’s called hunting,” followed promptly by a trip to the nearest Waffle House.

Travel was essential to Chester’s philosophy of life, and he encouraged it wholeheartedly for his children. He especially cherished later-in-life adventures with his beloved brother, Robert “Bob” Edward Clem, throughout South and Central America, and with Mary Kate to far-ranging destinations including Russia, Croatia, Argentina, and Chile.

In 2018, Chester fulfilled a long-held dream by purchasing the former Holman Ranch at Blue Cypress Lake. A Florida history buff, acquiring this piece of Old Florida held special meaning to Chester, as it was where he hosted his nearest and dearest for his unforgettable, albeit hazy, 60^th birthday party. He poured his heart into restoring the 1950s cabin, building a pavilion for family gatherings, tending the land, going toe-to-toe with the invasive hog population, and hand-feeding deer and turkeys that would come running at the sight of his truck or a wisp of his white hair. That place, long a gathering spot for family and friends, brought him deep pride, peace, and fulfillment. He joked he was modeling himself on Gregory Peck’s character in his favorite movie, “The Big Country”, as an outsider learning the lay of the vast land. Just days before his passing, Chester could be found there, exploring and enjoying the Old Florida woods.

Chester touched countless lives. He was infinitely proud of his five children and four grandchildren. He lived fully, loved deeply, and remained himself until the very end. In those final days, he told those closest to him how much he loved them, how proud he was, how grateful he was for his life, and that he was ready. True to form, once Chester set his mind to something, he did it, and he did it his way.

As Scripture so fittingly reflects his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”—2 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)

Chester was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Kay, and his brother, Bob. He is survived by his children: Zander Clem (Carmen Clem), Jeff Clem (Carrie Bryant), Chester Clem, III (Stacy Clem), Liz Clem Parrish (TJ Parrish), and Mary Kate Clem; and his grandchildren: Cristina Maria Clem, Isabella Olivia Clem, Alexander Murphree Clem II, and Emma O’Riordan.

Though Chester gave strict instructions that there be no service, his family has respectfully chosen to pay no heed to the old lion’s directive in order celebrate the extraordinary life he lived and the community he loved so dearly. A celebration of life will be held at the Heritage Center on Saturday, February 28, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with light appetizers and drinks, and a remembrance speech by Zander Clem will begin at 2:45pm. All who wish to share memories or pay their respects are warmly welcome.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Chester’s honor to The Hundred Club or the Kiwanis Club of Vero Beach.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.