Marc John Clements age 64 of Kalamazoo passed away Wednesday evening, May 6, 2026. He was born in Manistee, MI, on November 28, 1961, to Fred and Ida “Inky” (Christianson) Clements, the eldest of four sons.

In 1972, the family moved from Manistee to Grand Rapids, MI. Marc enjoyed his classes at Northeastern Elementary and spent time in the 5th grade as Lieutenant Safety, something he was very proud of doing.

In 1978, the family moved to Kalamazoo, MI, where Marc attended Kalamazoo Central in the 10th grade. He attended Portage Central for the remainder of high school, where he played football and graduated in 1980. After graduation he spent the summer working at Glacier National Park in Montana and loved it. Once the summer ended, Marc traveled the California highways fueling his desire to travel more.

Once back, in Michigan, during the Reagan era, when jobs were scarce, he decided to try his luck in Detroit where he lived for 4 months. When nothing panned out he returned to Kalamazoo where he found work at Harding’s Market in the Cork Lane Shopping Center on Cork Street. Marc started working at Harding’s in 1981 and 16 years later he left to become a Route Driver for Staggs Vending. He worked for Staggs for 4 years and 50 weeks, until 2002.

Marc married in 1995 and welcomed his son Alex in June of 1998. At about 5 years old, Alex was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He became a spokesperson and goodwill ambassador for a couple of years. During that time frame he helped to raise over $5 million and travelled over 10,000 miles doing so. Alex passed away in April, 2025 at age 26, due to complications from his disease.

Marc graduated from KVCC in 2000 and transferred his credits to WMU. He graduated in 2004 from WMU with a dual major in History and Secondary Education.

While attending WMU, Marc was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He successfully completed treatment and became a cancer survivor.

Once Marc obtained his degree he became a substitute teacher for Kalamazoo Public Schools, where he taught for 8 years. Marc taught at 12 different schools in the KPS system, teaching all ages of kids and grades. Although he loved teaching, the best part of his day was sneaking away to eat lunch with Alex whenever they were in the same school.

Marc’s love for travel started in his teens. Marc was proud of the fact that he had visited 48 of the 50 states, but Michigan was always his favorite. His many travels throughout upper and lower Michigan gave him the opportunity to spend time taking pictures of beautiful scenery which was another favorite past time of his. Some of his favorite places he traveled to included, San Diego, San Francisco, Yosemite, Key West, and Orlando/Disneyworld. Disneyworld is where he enjoyed his first ever expresso.

His love for photography began in the 5th grade and he credits his then neighbor, Richard Lewis, for sparking his interest.

Marc loved music. His favorite group from day one was Van Halen. You couldn’t help but think of him whenever you heard one of their songs. He was always up for a concert, especially a road trip to see one of his favorite groups. His tastes in music ranged from Taylor Swift to Ronnie James Dio’s Rainbow and everything in between.

Over the years, Marc journaled a lot and became good at documenting his travels, feelings, observations and everyday life. Short stories were a favorite of his to write.

Marc had many pets in his lifetime but his favorite was his pet opossum who he named Joey. Joey was Marc’s for a short time but he described him as “the coolest pet he ever had.”

Marc’s quick wit, mischievous blue eyes, infectious laugh, outgoing personality and friendly nature made him a magnet for all types of people who crossed his path. If you were lucky to become a friend of Marc’s, you were a friend for life. He had the gift of being able to pick up where you left off, even if you hadn’t talked in years.

Marc’s wish is to be remembered as an adventure seeker, who was a lifelong Democrat, someone who was politically aware and passionate about current events, a father who loved his son beyond measure, a man with passion and love for photography, travelling, his friends, his family and smoking the finest weed.

Marc is preceded in death by his son, Alex. He is survived by his mother, Inky (Al) Morlock; father, Fred (Diane) Clements; brothers, Mike (Jodi) Clements, Brad (Brenda) Clements, Chadd (Colleen) Clements; longtime friend, Sara Conant; his daughter, Jessica Klepper; many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins; and his extended family of friends.