Thomas Herman Clemons Sr.

Tom was born at the stroke of midnight, Dec. 2, 1950, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He was the oldest of five children born to Herman Clemons, a World War II Army veteran who helped liberate France, and Florence Rowe Clemons, originally from the South Side of Chicago. They always called Tom “Butch.”

He was a natural-born tinkerer. His lifelong infatuation with carpentry began early: A Rice Lake newspaper profiled 14-year-old Tom after he built his own 6-by-12-foot clubhouse in the backyard ("I put the carpet down this year," Tom explained. "I'm still working on some more built-ins."). He would go on to construct houses, docks, tables, desks, saunas — and, importantly, bars.

At 18, he watched the moon landing from a bar in Wisconsin. He moved to Louisville a couple years later and, in 1974 at age 23, opened one of his own: the Down to Earth Pub on Bardstown Road and Grinstead Drive. A highly analytical and methodical person who once dreamed of attending Harvard Law School, Tom channeled those traits into becoming a savvy businessman. Thirteen of the businesses he envisioned and opened were bars, restaurants, wine shops or liquor stores, many of which still exist to this day, including Old Town Liquors, The Back Door and Dundee Tavern in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood. Few who have partied on Bardstown Road in the past 50 years could have avoided a Tom Clemons enterprise.

He and his wife, Linda, moved to La Grange in 1997 to a house on Crystal Lake. After years of dissatisfaction with Oldham County's "dry" and then "moist" status — drinking beers at Applebee's just wasn't cutting it — Tom lobbied to make La Grange "wet" by expanding alcohol sales in the city, via a measure that voters approved in 2012. He and Linda opened Main Street Bourbon and Ale House there in 2015; the train observation tower that Tom built in front of the restaurant was dedicated to him in 2021. He was well-known in the La Grange community not just as a business owner — he also was at times a member of the Historic Districts Commission, Tourism Commission, Farmers' Market Board and Main Street Board.

Never idle, Tom kept himself busy and was almost always self-employed— and got frustrated quickly in the few jobs he wasn't. Even his successful businesses he didn't keep long: He would get curious and eager to move on to a new challenge. In addition to working in the alcohol industry, Tom owned several general contracting businesses specializing in home building and even dabbled in long-haul trucking. There was always a project in the works: building an addition on back deck of his home (the house itself he built in 2018), or buying a quarry with the intention of transforming it into a campground and music venue, or constructing a new patio and seating at his son’s bar, or turning a tiny house on La Grange’s Main Street into a popular Airbnb, or growing a marijuana plant in his daughter’s bedroom while she was away at college — just to see if he could successfully do it. (He gave most of the pot away.)

Tom was a consummate entrepreneur who imparted business and home advice to his children, children-in-law and grandchildren, and could fix or advise on any needed household repair.

He was married three times and had four children: His son Patrick was born in 1972 to his first wife, Margaret Kelly. He married Mary Kathleen (Kathy) Clegg (née Stuckenberg) in 1975; their children, Tommy and Shannon, were born in 1976 and 1980, respectively. He married Linda Dant in 1989 and their daughter, Becca, was born in 1992. Tom and Linda celebrated their 33rd anniversary on Aug. 6.

He taught his kids how to handicap a horse race (the only sport he ever liked), play chess — and curse.

Tom had the special ability to string together curse words to fit any situation, whether really bad, mildly bad — or even good. ("F--- me, I love the Moody Blues!" he once proclaimed as "Nights in White Satin" came on the radio.) While most parents are alarmed when their child first cusses, Tom’s reaction was more like one of pride.

He also possessed a legendary temper that led to countless priceless memories and inside jokes among his children ("WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING???"; the Drury Inn incident; the frozen fish incident; the rollerbed incident; the Rage-O-Meter — just to name a few). He never suffered a fool.

Tom believed that the best music was made in the 1960s and early ’70s (especially if it was by The Doors). Play any radio hit from the era and he could immediately rattle off the year the single or album was released, and sometimes even the day. A favorite lyric was from Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “And When I Die”: “I swear there ain’t no heaven, but I pray there ain’t no hell.”

Tom liked to travel; Bermuda and Europe were favorite destinations. His final trip took him back to his native Wisconsin with kids and grandkids to visit his oldest granddaughter, Ella, who attends college in Milwaukee. The stay culminated in a day-long quest to find his beloved Schlitz beer on draft. It took five stops and multiple games of pool before finally locating it, at a public market that also offered another Tom favorite: raw oysters on the half-shell. That day was exactly one month before his death.

Everyone who knew Tom knew he was meticulous and stubborn and liked things done His Way. In the weeks before he died, just before losing his ability to communicate, he wrote out a list of every business he ever owned, color-coded by type of business, and left it on his desk where his kids would find it — presumably in order to write this obituary. He sold his truck. He paid for his cremation, shut down credit cards, gifted his kids trips with remaining airline points. He took care of as much as he could on his own because that was His Way — and also to make this as easy as possible for his family.

He also left a notepad listing six songs. There was no heading or further instructions but it's clear these are what he wants to be played at his memorial. Among them, that Blood, Sweat & Tears song.

Here’s to you, Dad, we’ll all drink a Schlitz or a glass of Chianti Classico Riserva in your honor.

And, to answer your inevitable followup question: Yes, those are your only two options.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Dant Clemons; his children Patrick (Paulette) Cameron, Tommy (Sally) Clemons, Shannon (Keith) Hosey, and Becca (Matt Callahan) Clemons; stepdaughter Tammy Clegg; grandchildren Ella, Emmet and Emilia Clemons and Kayla Hosey; brothers Lynn and Ed (JoAnne) Clemons; sister Sheri Bronstad; and numerous members of his Chicago and Wisconsin families. He is preceded in death by his parents, Florence and Herman Clemons; brother Samuel Clemons; and ex-wife Kathy Clemons.

His family wants to thank Dr. Webb and Dr. Pokorny at Baptist Health and Hosparus Health for all of their help. A celebration of life will follow soon. In lieu of flowers, consider patronizing your local bar or restaurant in Tom's honor.