Clemence Victor Eckermann was born at Riverton, South Australia, the son of Alfred Wilhelm Eckernamm and Rosina Mabel Bradtke. At an early age he felt the call to serve his Lord and, with the encouragement from his teackers and the local pastor, went to Concordia College in 1932 and continued on to Concordia Seminary. On graduation, he was ordained in 1941, and in 1943 was married to Norma Coral Herde.

Clemence served at Koonibba from 1941 to 1942 as teacher and assistant pastor, then from 1946 to 1953 and 1960 to 1965 as pastor and superintendant. It was during his second service at Koonibba he vistied Aboriginal communities over an area ranging from White Well on the Nullarbor to Port Lincoln and Port Augusta. From 1977 until his retirement in 1984 as pastor to the Aboriginal Lutheran Fellowship of Greater Adelaide, Cemence serviced the Aboriginal people who had moved there. From the beginning of his ministry at Koonibba he developed a deep affection for the Aboriginal community and this continued throughout his ministry. In 1979, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for service to Aboriginal welfare, which included recognition of his implementation for an active self-determination and self-government policy in keeping with Aboriginal Culture. (Source: Koonibba: The Mission and the Nunga People)