William "Bill" Herbert Clark a long time resident of Carolwood Lakeview in Northport, AL and recent resident of Cumming, GA passed away Tuesday, December 21, 2010. Bill was born April 22, 1925 in Kenneth, KS to Ada Odessa Weiss Clark and Joel Clark. As a teenager Bill joined the Civilian Conservation Corps starting out in Boise, Idaho and then worked on trails in Olympic National Park and was briefly a National Park Service Employee. In 1942 after outdoor adventures and working with an old trapper named Cougar Mike, Bill lied about his age to join the Third Battalion of the Marine Raiders and fought in World War II. PFC Clark fought in the South Pacific where his first stop was New Caledonia and then Guadalcanal. While serving in the Marines, Bill met the heroic Chaplain Paul J. Redmond, who later introduced Bill to Dr. Margaret "Mom" Chung of San Francisco. Mom Chung adopted Bill into her military family as an honorary son Kiwi number 307. Following World War II, Bill briefly left the military only to join the Army where he spent the next 20 years as a Master Sergeant with the 82 Airborne and as an ROTC rifle coach at the University of Alabama. On July 10, 1950 he married Doris Ellene Baughn of Carbon Hill, Alabama and between various posts spent many years living in Northport, Alabama. Upon retiring from the Army, Master Sergeant Clark worked for the U.S. Government in Vietnam. Once he returned from Vietnam he was an investigator for the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations for 20 years. An avid golfer, gardener and jack of all trades, Bill always delighted in talking to people. William H. Clark is survived by his sons Keith, Dwight, Randy and daughter Michele and his two brothers Lloyd and Carl Clark. Mr. Clark was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Doris, his sister Marjorie Chance and his brothers, Eugene, Kelly and Lawrence Clark. Funeral services will be held at Sunset Funeral Home in Northport, AL at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 29. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park with Sunset Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider directing. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Hospice Foundation, 8013 Majors Rd, Cumming, GA 30041. Condolences may be offered at www.sunsetbrown-funeral.com
Published in Kansas City Star on December 29, 2010