Robert Douglas Clevenger liked to share stories of his war days with his family, giving details of the battleship he served on and encounters with the enemy.
But the World War II veteran also had a reflective side in which he told of the vagaries of war and his own personal feelings toward what happened back then.
“The way he spoke of war was at the very essence of what my father was, a very kind and gentle man, with a deep sense of responsibility,” said his daughter, Bobbie Gerbrecht Grayson. “He’d say, `I’m proud of my service to my country, but very sorrowful for the lives lost on both sides, as a result of my actions.'”
Mr. Clevenger, 82, of Wheaton, a retired business consultant and founder of R&I Co., died Thursday, Sept. 16, at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, from complications related to renal failure.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Clevenger was raised in Elmhurst and graduated from York High School in 1940. He then attended Elmhurst College, where he met his late wife, Isabelle, who died in 2000.
“He was a football player, and she was a cheerleader,” his daughter said. “They’d been eyeing each other for weeks, when one day my dad walked up to my mom in the library and said, `Say Isy, let’s you and me take a walk.’ She agreed and that walk lasted some 50 years.”
During World War II, Mr. Clevenger left college to serve in the Navy aboard the USS Mississippi in the Pacific. After his discharge, he returned to Elmhurst College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in science in 1947.
After college, Mr. Clevenger worked for several years as a research chemist in Chicago, and later in a sales position. In the early 1960s, he moved to Connecticut on a job transfer, where he lived until 1967. That same year, he returned to the Midwest and settled with his family in Wheaton. Soon after, he started his own business, R&I Co., working as a manufacturer’s representative and consultant in the field of metal finishing, until his retirement in 1997.
“Although it was sometimes stressful, he enjoyed being his own boss,” his daughter said. “He liked sharing his knowledge, having a background both in science and business.”
While raising his family, Mr. Clevenger also delighted in spending time with his children outdoors, family members said.
“He instilled in all of us a love of nature,” his daughter said. “He took us fishing and had us help him in the garden. He taught us how to enjoy life and appreciate the little things.”
Other survivors include two sons, Douglas and Brian; a daughter, Dianne Hutchison; three sisters, Jean Clevenger Schildbach; Bernice Hackler and Ruthellyn Kupsky; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday in Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton. Services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday in St. Matthew United Church of Christ, 1420 S. Gables Blvd., Wheaton.
