Richard Melvin Clark
October 15, 1927 - December 2, 2007
Obituary
Richard Melvin Clark was born in Harrisonburg, Louisiana, on October 15, 1927. He passed away on December 2, 2007, at age 80, in Seattle, Washington, after suffering a stroke in August. He was preceded in death by his mother Callie Neal Willis and father Joseph Clark. Richard grew up in Monroe, LA, graduated from Monroe Colored High School in 1946 and joined the U.S. Air Force. After he was discharged in 1949 he returned to Monroe where he attended a veterans school learning and then teaching leather craft and shoe repair. For several years Richard worked at Monroe Wholesale Drugs.
He moved to Seattle in 1960 where two of his aunts were living. He worked as a longshoreman and warehouseman, began working for the Seattle Parks Department in 1968 as a laborer, retiring in 1996 as a crew chief. Many of his co-workers remained close friends. All you punks out there know who you are.
Richard enjoyed playing poker, pool and tonk. He was hard to beat at dominoes and learned to play pinochle in recent years. He liked to watch western movies, keep his and the neighbors’ lawns mowed and edged and he was seldom seen without a baseball cap and toothpick.
He made sure family gatherings were well supplied with barbequed chicken from the Home of Good Bar-B-Que, ordering extra to send to some of the neighbors.
Richard is survived by his wife Judy daughter Camille and son Neal, all of Seattle, and cousin Bessie Williams of Oakland, California.
We’re missing you, Rich!
Judy: Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I know it has been a tough few months. I’m sorry that Richard lost the battle.
Camille,
My condolences to you and your family.
Peace & Joy,
Regena
I spent much of my childhood at the Clark home with Camille and I will never forget Mr. Clark in his baseball cap and ever present tooth pick. He always has & always will hold a very warm spot in my heart.
All my love and sympathy to the entire Clark family at this sad sad time.
Rich with his slooow talking toothpick grin will always be one of many fond memories I shall have of him. He was my first Senior Lead in the parks department, a gentleman, funny, considerate of others, and made sure everyone would contribute one dollar to the monthly birthday fund. I’ll miss his yearly honey jars.
My heartfelt condolences to the Clark Family.
We are not there physically but we sure are in spirit. As Richard rests in peace may you each live in peace.
Luther and Cynthia Jones & Family
It was my honor to have worked with Rich when his crew shared our barn in SE. He always had that little twinkle in his eye. We will all miss him. My condolences to his loved ones.
It was my honor to have worked with Rich when his crew shared our barn in SE. He always had that little twinkle in his eye. We will all miss him. My condolences to his loved ones.
It was my honor to have worked with Rich when his crew shared our barn in SE. He always had that little twinkle in his eye. We will all miss him. My condolences to his loved ones.
Rich was my first Senior Lead supervisor when I started working in the Parks Department in 1982. He showed great confidence and pride in the work that women fairly new to working in the field were accomplishing on his crew. His encouragement and kindness were invaluable to me. Thank you Judy, Camille and Neal for sharing Rich with us.
Richard, you will be missed. My condolences to Judy, Cami and Neal. By the way Richard, you owe me a couple of dollars!
We were all so saddened to come in to work one morning & find Richard not there to wave to us in the hallway. He worked steadily for 3 months to make huge recovery from his stroke, and was a pleasure to work with every day. We enjoyed his humor, his stories, his wry comments at the most unexpected moments, & peeking in on those domino wars with his friend Aaron. We celebrated his successes, as well as his 80th birthday. The way Judy, Camille & Neal & neighbor children! decorated his room made it feel like home, and it was so apparent how very loved he was by family & friends.
With love & condolences from Nancy, Andrew, Bernice, Gigi, and many many staff at Kline Galland
Our prayers are with you and your family. May you be blessed with memories and special times you shared together. God bless you and keep you -Molly, Timmy and Jake Crocker
I am sorry to hear about Rich. I worked in the same district as he did and saw him a few times during the day. I learned to respect him and appreciate the way he treated others. It was a real pleasure and honor to know him. Thank you for letting us know about his passing away.
That’s sure right about that toothpick and we were two of his “punk” friends. We both worked with Rich for many years, and we saw him when he’d drop by with Josh at our barn at Genesse. He was a genuine nice guy. We will both miss him. Judy, Cammie and Neal, take care. love, candi and Dorothy
Dear Family. I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I remember Richard from Camille’s time at the Brenneke School. I remember him as joyful and feisty. I know you will miss him terribly. My prayers are with you.
With warm regards,
Heida Brenneke
Dear Family. I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I remember Richard from Camille’s time at the Brenneke School. I remember him as joyful and feisty. I know you will miss him terribly. My prayers are with you.
With warm regards,
Heida Brenneke
I heard that Rich left us today and remember him so fondly. He was my Senior Lead back 22 years ago and he was great to work for.
Rich set the bar very high with his wry, caring and honorable way. I will miss him. Peggy