Rev. B. Ammons

Clarence Brown Ammons passed away Friday May 11, 2018 at the age of 88. Services will be held at Montview Presbyterian Church Saturday, June 2 at 11:00 A.M. Gifts may be made to Wellshire Presbyterian Church or a charity of choice.

Born in Red Springs, North Carolina, Clarence, along with his four brothers, attended elementary and high school in Red Springs. He received his B.A. degree from the College of Wooster in Ohio, followed by graduate work at the University of North Carolina and at the Institute of International Studies in Geneva Switzerland, where he met his future wife Shelley Anderson.

Drafted into the Army, Clarence was given a desk assignment at Army Headquarters near Norfolk, Virginia where he served for 18 months before being honorably discharged and taking a position with Monsanto Chemical Company. At Monsanto, Clarence worked as an overseas representative for nine years before changing directions and entering the seminary.

For seminary, Clarence attended Eden Theological Seminary after which he received his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. During this time, Clarence and Shelley had four sons and after Clarence was ordained, the family moved to Denver in 1966 where Clarence started his ministry as an Associate Pastor at Montview Presbyterian Church. In 1972, Clarence was installed as Pastor of Wellshire Presbyterian Church where he brought fresh changes, resulting in significant growth and culminating in the construction of a new sanctuary in 1980.

Clarence was active in and served as Moderator of Denver Presbytery and in 1981, Hastings College in Nebraska conferred an honorary doctorate upon him in recognition of his work. Clarence retired in 1995, and, in recognition of his service, Wellshire Presbyterian Church established the Clarence B. Ammons Preaching Endowment and renamed the church's original chapel to the Clarence B. Ammons Chapel.

After retirement, Clarence's skill as a pastor remained in demand as he continued to travel around the country – and the world – bringing his unique blend of ministry. After work at the Protestant mission in Moscow in 1995/1996, Clarence returned to Princeton, New Jersey where he presided as Interim Pastor for five years at Nassau Presbyterian Church and served on the board of the Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2000, he returned to his home town of Red Springs in North Carolina where he presided as Interim Pastor at Antioch Presbyterian Church until 2002, before then heading to Georgetown Presbyterian for two more years before finally returning to Denver.

After divorcing his first wife Shelley in 1985, Clarence remarried twice more before being widowed in 2009. A life-long lover of classical, choral and instrumental music, especially opera,

Clarence is survived by his four sons, Mark, Tim, David and Joel, and his fourteen grandchildren. He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.

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