Richard L. Clark's Obituary
Richard L. Clark
Richard L. Clark was born in Ramstein A.F.B-Landstual, Germany on October 26, 1958 to Howard and Veva Clark. He attained the age of 53 years. He was born into an US Air Force military family; his family moved to Washington in August of 1960, and in January 1967 they relocated to Okinawa Japan. The family moved to Washington State in 1971. During their stay on Okinawa, Rick was very involved with the Boy Scouts. After returning to Washington, Rick continued his involvement with the Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle Scout; his Eagle Scout award was presented to him by the then presiding Governor of Washington State. He graduated from Washington High School in 1977, and went to the University of Washington in Seattle for engineering. While in school, he worked in sales with Optimum Sound, and shared an apartment with his close friend Dave Holtz. He began working with the Seattle Times as a District Advisor in distribution, and also belonged to the Newspaper Guild Pacific Northwest #82 Union. Prior to moving back to Tacoma he also worked at World of Video and Stereo Shop.
On July 27, 1985 Rick married Mary Christine Ferri. In July 1986 they had their first child, Steven Clark. While continuing to work for the Seattle Times, Rick continued his education at Clover Park Technical College. When he completed his studies, he started a new job with the City of Tacoma Public Utilities as Office Systems Administrator. Their second child, Angela Clark, was born in May 1990. Rick continuously worked to further his education and technical expertise, always striving to be on the cutting edge of his field. He worked for the City of Tacoma Public Utilities for 23 years and was the Senior Technical Analyst, and belonged to the AFSCME Local 120 Union.
Rick loved the outdoors; his favorite things to do were fishing and boating. Most pictures of Rick prominently feature his big smile with him proudly holding up a fish he had just caught. He enjoyed camping, skiing, riding his motorcycle, and driving his Porsche. He loved to garden a'ld landscape. Due to all the outdoor activities he enjoyed in, he accumulated a large collection of sun glasses and hats. He was always a wiz at any, and all "fix-it" projects. He was very detail-orientated in everything he was involved in, from home projects to work projects. He loved to barbeque and made fantastic meals with great BBQ sauce, but he still always managed to burn the garlic bread. He enjoyed taking his family on small trips and great vacations. There were always the fun trips to Seaside, Oregon, the family vacations to go see his relatives on the East Coast of the States, and his most recent trip was to Las Vegas this past May. He loved his dogs and even found a fondness of cats, rats and turtles with age.
He was involved with Boys Scouts with his son Steven, and helped with him with several summer camps and trips, ultimately leading to Steven getting his Eagle Scout rank. He founded the Midland Residence Association with the goal of preserving the wetlands around his home which he was so fond of. Rick also proposed the idea to turn the old water building into the Mid County Senior Center.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Mary Christine Clark, and his two children, Steven and Angela Clark, as well as his sister Linda (John) Sisemore of Missouri, and his half-brother Thomas (Jenny) Clark of California. He is preceded in death by his parents Howard and Veva Clark and his sister Jeanne.
He will be greatly missed by his family and friends but will be remembered forever.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: 1-800-822-6344, Fax: 901-578-2805, Email: [email protected], 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home.
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