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CLUTE, Craig R. 1964-1999

CLUTE

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 10/16/2010 at 14:58:45

[Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Wednesday, March 24, 1999]

WATERLOO — Craig R. Clute, 34, formerly of Waterloo, died Friday, March 19, 1999, from complications of juvenile diabetes.

He was born June 14, 1964, in Waterloo, son of Charles R. and Doris Nelson Clute. He attended West High School and graduated from College of the Canyons, Valencia, Calif. He was currently working as an accountant for Fred Sands Realty, Brentwood, Calif.

Survived by his father of Waterloo; a brother, Chuck of Mukileo, Wash.; and a sister, Cheryl Shapiro of Los Angeles.

Preceded in death by his mother.

Memorial services: noon today at Reardon Simi Valley Mortuary, Simi Valley, Calif.

Memorials may be directed to American Diabetes Association or American
Humane Society.

----------------------

[Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, Friday, June 14, 2013]

Craig R. Clute passed away due to complications from Juvenile Diabetes on March 19, 1999. On this, the 49th anniversary of his birth, his family wanted to honor him by recalling some of their fondest memories of Craig.

Craig was born June 14, 1964, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Doris and Bob Clute. In 1984, Craig moved to the Los Angeles area of California to be with his sister Cheryl and his brother Chuck. He graduated with a business degree from the College of the Canyons in Valencia, Calif., and became a staff accountant for Fred Sands Real Estate in Brentwood, Calif.

It has now been more than 14 years since we have been without Craig, and it still feels like just a few seconds have passed. He lived every day to its fullest, no matter how badly he felt, no matter how tired he may have been. None of that stuff mattered. He felt that anything that would take him away from enjoying life was “just a bunch of hooey.”

As we got ready to wait in line for the most recent “Star Trek” movie, we knew Craig was with us. We heard his voice cajoling us to get moving — we were going to be late! Late for Craig meant getting in the “Star Trek” line no later than two hours before show time. Late for Craig meant only getting to eat two hot dogs before the previews started. Late for Craig meant that he only had time to consume one jumbo-size popcorn before entering the theater. Late for Craig meant missing the first through fourth showings of the latest “Star Trek” installment, starting at midnight if necessary.

How appropriate is it for the latest Superman movie to have its premiere on Craig’s birthday? We can hear Craig responding to our question, “What do you want for your birthday?” His response would have undoubtedly been to sit for every showing of Superman at one theater and then hop to two or three more theaters that day to see it again.

It helped if you were as passionate about movies as Craig, but it really didn’t matter. Craig had a strong opinion about everything; he was the champion debater and always got people to see things his way. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was as good as the original series, but so much better than “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager.” James Garner was the best actor who ever lived, but seeing just 10 John Wayne movies was never enough. Frank Sinatra was king through the mid-1960s, but his post-Capitol Records albums were just not up to the same Sinatra standards. Why pay for a hoity-toity dinner when you can get all-you-can-eat pizza and mo-jo potatoes at Shakey’s?

So if Craig were still with us today, what would he have found exciting? Certainly, he would not have changed his opinion about the things he found exciting up to this point. However, he would have supplemented his excitement with the wonders of the Internet. He would not have appreciated games, blogs, social media or any of the other large consumers of time. Rather, he would have found excitement about the information he found on the Web. Fourteen years ago, he was thrilled that he could take a virtual tour of the White House and have all of the email addresses of his congressional representatives. He was delighted to be able to write to each of them to express his displeasure about all of their job performances; today, he would do the same thing. Fourteen years ago, only a fraction of the DC Comics covers could be found on the Web; today, he would find great joy hunting for pictures of almost all of them. Fourteen years ago, he took great pleasure in finding cheap, previously viewed movies to add to his collection; today, he would probably like Netflix and Hulu, but he would still always look for eBay deals in order to own his own copy. Fourteen years ago, he loved listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme; today, he would take great joy teaching his nephews all about the great singers. Fourteen years ago, he would be singing along with Dean Martin; today, a tear would come to his eyes listening to one of his nephews belt out “When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie, that’s amoooore!”

Craig’s sense of wonder, excitement and sense of humor was contagious to all those who surrounded him. Although more than 14 years have now passed, the power of all that was Craig is still very much alive with us all today. Life was never dull with Craig. Life was fun and always an adventure. We miss Craig’s passion for his friends. We miss his insistence that he help any friend who was moving, visit any friend’s ill family member who was in the hospital and drive any friend anywhere he or she wanted to go. We miss the fact that Craig would drop anything that he was doing to help out a friend or someone he hoped to call friend.

We miss you, Craig, and we will love you forever.


 

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