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In Memoriam

W. Clement Yeck - Class Of 1976

W. Clement Yeck

W. Clement Yeck, son of Ernest Arthur (1902-1991) and Mary Louise (Earley) (1927-1971) Yeck, was born 20 September 1957.  Clement graduated in 1976 from Okemos High School.

Clement and his 2 year old son, E. Hunter Yeck, died tragically in a fire 12 March 1987, Newport, Lincoln County, Oregon.  Father and son were interred together Batemans Chelan Abbey Mausoleum, Newport.

Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) Friday 13 March 1987

FIRE IN CAMPER KILLS MAN AND SON

Newport - An early morning fire in a pickup camper killed a Newport man and his son and injured a woman, Police Chief Jim Rivers said.

W. Clement Yeck, 29, and his 2-year-old son, E. Hunter Yeck, were found in the charred remains of the camper parked at the Harbor Village Trailer Park, 923 SE Bay Blvd., Rivers said.

A third victim, 33-year-old Elaine R. Hamstreet, was found near the camper, he said.  She was taken by ambulance to Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport and later to Emanuel Hospital's Oregon Burn Center in Portland.

Hamstreet is listed in critical condition Thursday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Rivers said he was unsure of the relationship between the Yecks and Hamstreet.  The three lived in the camper, which was set on blocks in Lot 162, park manger Jerry Frink said.

Fire Chief Don Rowley said the camper was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived about 4:05 a.m.  The blaze took about five minutes to control, he said.

Rivers said the cause of the fire is being investigated by Newport police detectives and by the Oregon State Police arson investigator and crime laboratory technicians.

He said there was no indication of arson.

 

Elaine Ruth (Nelson) Hamstreet, wife of Marvin J. Hamstreet, was living with Clement and the mother of the child, E. Hunter.  Elaine, although severely burned, survived the fire.  She was born 8 June 1953, Oregon and died 16 October 2008, Lincoln County, Oregon.

Corvalles Gazette Times (Corvalles, Oregon) Friday 13 March 1