Warren Rudy Clements, board chairman of the Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino and leader of economic development efforts on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, died Wednesday night.

Clements, 69, died at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, from complications related to diabetes, according to a statement by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

”He’s going to be missed in a lot of different ways,” said Jody Calica, secretary-treasurer for the tribes. ”We’re going to have to look awful hard to find some of the leadership Rudy provided.”

Over three decades working for the tribes, Clements served as the tribe’s municipal manager, the manager of the employee development department and the first director of the Warm Springs Community Center. Most recently, Clements served as director of tribal relations and was one of the leaders of the tribes’ effort to build a new casino at Cascade Locks.

Clements was a jovial man who enjoyed taking the lead when things needed doing, said former Oregon Gov. Vic Atiyeh.

”When there was something important to be done, all of a sudden you’d hear about Rudy Clements,” Atiyeh said.

Clements worked with Atiyeh in the early 1980s, when the governor created the Commission on Indian Services. But the pair kept in touch.

”We were just friends who enjoyed each other’s company,” Atiyeh said. ”Probably my fondest memories are when we’d both go fishing on the Deschutes River.”

Clements was born on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation on June 10, 1936. He was the oldest son of Bart and Helen McCorkle Clements, according to the tribes.

Clements had a strong interest in tribal culture and religion, Calica said. Clements served as the first chairman of the Museum at Warm Springs board and was exploring new ways to attract culture-based tourism to the reservation before he died.

In his free time, Clements worked with dance groups to raise funds for the Lincoln’s Day pow wow held in Simnasho. He had recently worked with the Quartz Creek Singers and Drummers.

Rudy is survived by his wife of 47 years, Anna Queahpama Clements; brothers George, Mike and Grant Clements; one granddaughter, Shayla Frank; and one great-grandson, Jake Frank.

A prayer service was held at Clements’ home on Thursday. A dressing is planned for 3 p.m. today at the Simnasho Longhouse, with overnight Washat services to follow. A procession is scheduled to leave the Simnasho Longhouse at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by burial services at the Agency Cemetery at 10:45 a.m.

Services

* A dressing is planned for 3 p.m. today at the Simnasho Longhouse, with overnight Washat services to follow. A procession is scheduled to leave the Simnasho Longhouse at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by burial services at 10:45 a.m. at Agency Cemetery.