CARBONDALE -- Charles W. Clemens, M.D., passed away Wednesday, June 1, 2011, in St. Louis.

He is survived by wife of 40 years, Marsha Kay Clemens, and daughter, Kimberly Elizabeth Clemens.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Elizabeth Clemens (Wolfram), and father, Charles William Clemens Jr.

Born in Denver, Charles served as a captain in Army Medical Corp from 1971 through 1973 and had service in the Republic of Vietnam from 1971 through 1972.

Charles received his Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1966 and his Master of Arts from Indiana University Medical School in 1970. He did his internship at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Ind., from 1970 through 1971 and his residency at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis from 1973 through 1975.

In 1975, Charles joined the practice at Carle Clinic in Urbana, until 1991 when he moved to the Southern Illinois University Student Health Service, where he retired as chief of staff.

His hobbies included long-distance bicycling, camping and photography and backpacking. As of 2004, he had completed six backpacking trips into the Grand Canyon.

"A Celebration of Life: Remembering Chuck Clemens" to honor Dr. Clemens will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 11, 2011, at Green Retreat in Victorian House at www.greenretreat.com. The address is 6337 Chautauqua Road, Murphysboro, IL 62966.

The family plans at various points throughout the afternoon during the celebration to pause and allow those who wish the opportunity to share any memories and stories about Dr. Clemens with others present, probably around 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.