It is with sadness that I report the passing of Cyril Clemens, Mark Twain's
kinsman and the founder of the _Mark Twain Journal_. A detailed account of
Cyril Clemens's life, written by Thomas A. Tenney,  may be found in _The
Mark Twain Encyclopedia_ (149-151) . An entry on Cyril Clemens also appears
in _Mark Twain A to Z_.

Kevin B.

The following obituary appeared in _The St. Louis Post_ on May 18, 1999:


Cyril Clemens; Worked to Keep Alive Memory of Mark Twain

Cyril Clemens, who became one of Kirkwood's best-known residents after
devoting his life to keeping alive the memory of Mark Twain, died Sunday
(May 16, 1999) at St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood. He was 96 and had lived
in Kirkwood for 66 years.

Mr. Clemens said his great-great-grandfather and Samuel Langhorne Clemens'
great-great-grandfather were brothers - and therefore, he and the famous
writer and humorist were third cousins, twice removed.

Mr. Clemens liked to tell of the last time he had seen Mark Twain, as the
writer called himself: "He and my father were close friends, and our family
went to visit him at his Connecticut home in 1909, the year before he died.
I was just a child, but his image - his white suit and flowing white hair -
remains strong."

Mr. Clemens also recalled that while playing with one of Mark Twain's cats,
he had asked: "What is better than a cat?" To which Twain is supposed to
have replied: "Two cats!"

Mr. Clemens was born July 14, 1902, in St. Louis and attended Georgetown
University in Washington before finishing his college work at Washington
University.

Shortly after earning master's degrees in history and English, Mr. Clemens
launched his lifelong career as a collector of Twain history.

His hair was as white as Twain's, and his home looked like a Twain museum
inside.

In his 20s, Mr. Clemens founded the International Mark Twain Society and
began publishing the Mark Twain Journal.

He signed up every famous person he could and put them on the masthead as
friends, sponsors or donors. When he included Benito Mussolini, it caused a
stir.

Mr. Clemens later explained that Mussolini was a great Twain fan and had
been gracious during Mr. Clemens' visit to Rome. "We dropped him later,
after he fell in with bad company," Mr. Clemens said.

Visitation will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Peter's Catholic Church,
243 West Argonne Drive in Kirkwood. A funeral Mass will be celebrated there
at 11 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery.

Mr. Clemens was married to the late Nan Shallcross.

Among the survivors are a granddaughter, Robin Clemens of South Salem, N.Y.,
and a great-grandson, Christopher Clemens Kaplan of South Salem, N.Y.