Gordon Clem (1931-2013)

The National Association of Episcopal Schools was saddened to hear of the death of Gordon Clem, former headmaster of the Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City. He was a cherished friend, trustee, and mentor to many in Episcopal and independent schools.

Clem died on Sunday, September 29, 2013 in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. He was 82.

Gordon rose from among the faculty to become headmaster of St. Thomas Choir School in 1967, a position he held for 28 years. A leader in math and science education, he founded the Dana Hall Math and Science Workshops, a program which has trained hundreds of independent school teachers for the past 50 years and continues today. He was a founding head of the Elementary School Heads Association and served as a trustee of the National Association of Independent Schools, the New York State Association of Independent Schools, and independent and Episcopal schools across the northeast.

Gordon was a lifelong Episcopalian. He graduated summa cum laude from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1949. He later served on the standing committees of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. He was a faithful communicant at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox, Massachusetts.

A memorial service will be held at Saint Thomas Church (5th Avenue and 53rd Street) in New York City on Sunday, October 13, at Evensong at 4:00 p.m.

A funeral mass will be held at Trinity Church at 88 Walker Street in Lenox, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 19, at 11:00 a.m.

He is survived by his sister, Mrs. Ann Hoyle and her husband David, of Wrentham, Massachusetts.

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