St. Louis Businessman Jerry Clinton Passes - FOX2now.com

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. (KTVI-FOX2now.com)â€"

St. Louis lost a man with a big heart Wednesday.  74-year old Jerry Clinton, a philanthropist and businessman,  died at home after a long battle with cancer. 

Clinton lived the American dream.  He grew up in a public housing apartment and never graduated from college.  But he turned an entry level job at Anheuser Busch into a career that eventually had him buying the beer giant's St. Louis County distributorship, Grey Eagle.  His success at business gave him the time and resources to give back to his community.  He would say, "this community has been good to me, I owe the community something."

Clinton helped numerous charities raise money.  He served on boards for the Backstoppers and the Gateway Chapter Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the St. Louis Ambassadors.  He and his good friend, the late Jack Buck, often appeared at charity golf tournaments.  Twenty-five years ago Clinton launched the Budweiser Guns and Hoses  boxing tournament to benefit Backstoppers, the charity that helps families of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty.  The annual event pits firefighters versus police in the boxing ring.  It has raised 3.6 million dollars.  Backstoppers currently serves 59 families and 58 dependent children of first responders.

Clinton himself was a Golden Gloves boxing champ as a young man and he thrived on the boxer's mentality to never give up.

That determination stood him in good stead when the St. Louis Cardinals football team left town for Phoenix.  Determined to see pro-football return to the Gateway City, Clinton campaigned for an expansion team and a new stadium.  Construction of the dome began, but St. Louis did not get a new team.  Eventually the Rams moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis, although Clinton was not part of the ownership team.

His success was tempered by heartbreak when his son Jeff died in a racing car accident.  The two shared a love of racing cars.  Clinton made a friend of the late actor Paul Newman on the race track.

'Jerry has done so many things for so many people that you almost have to tell him to stop, but he never will,' said longtime friend Dan Dierdorf in the foreword to Clinton`s autobiography, 'Accept the Challenge,' published in 2007. 'He doesn`t know the meaning of the word. You can always count on Jerry and he never asks for anything. That makes him a very special man.'

Sportscaster Joe Buck remembers Clinton's  hospitality and generosity from his childhood. 
"Jerry is the kind of guy who, without fail, if you need his help he's there for you," said Buck.

Clinton is survived by his wife Terri, his son Brian, daughter-in-law Megan, former daughter-in-law Ellie Williams, five grandchildren and his former wife, Jo.

Visitation will be held at Bopp Chapel on Monday, January 23rd, from 2 pm to 8 pm. The funeral mass will be held at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on Lindell Blvd. at 9:30 am on Tuesday, January 24th. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Backstoppers or Child Center Marygrove.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Backstoppers or Child Center Marygrove.