John Richard Clark

March 15, 1942 – February 22, 2023

John Richard Clark passed away at home in the presence of his family on February 22,

2023. John was born to Wilbur H. and Ruby M. (Larson) Clark in Seattle, Washington on March

15, 1942. He was the second of five children born to Wilbur and Ruby.

When he was very young the family moved around a bit, eventually landing in Priest

River, Idaho. Growing up on a farm was always interesting and there was consistently lots of

work to be done. It was there that John was taught a strong work ethic. Whether he was bailing

hay, milking cows or taking care of the other animals on the farm John was always focused on

getting the work done and doing a quality job.

Growing up, John's best friend was his brother Jim. They were inseparable. One

adventure in a rowboat ended up in uncoordinated rowing and endless laughter. They enjoyed

each other's company immensely.

At the age of 19 John started dating the woman who would later become his wife. Sharon

1. Welch was 16 and she quickly became the love of his life. The pair dated for four years

before getting married on July 4, 1964, at the Catholic Church in Enumclaw, Washington.

During the first four years of their marriage John and Sharon lived in a few different

places. For a little while John worked construction with his older brother, Phil. He made good

money there and was good at everything he did. Eventually he went back to work in the woods.

In 1968 while he was working in the logging industry John and Sharon had their first

child, a son that they named Richard. John was thrilled. He beamed brightly and talked about his

son to everyone that would listen. In 1970 his joy at having a son was multiplied. Michael made

his entrance into the world and was an instant celebrity with his brother and parents. Angela was

the youngest born to John and Sharon. From birth she was the apple of her father's eye. As the

children grew to adulthood and got married, grandchildren were added to the family. John and

Sharon have a total of eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In his formative years John enjoyed math classes but reading seemed to him to be

something dreary. He just didn't take to it like he did to math. When he decided to finish a

college degree he went after it with gusto. In the early 1970's he graduated from Eastern

Washington University with an impressive 3.3 grade point average. He did this while being

married, having three children, working full time and helping Sharon with her daycare. It was

quite the monumental achievement!

In 1970 John started working for the USPS on the letter sorting machines. Over the years

he held several positions and retired as a postmaster. All together he worked 30 years for the

postal service and retired in 2000.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbur and Ruby Clark and his brothers Jim

and Wilbur "Phil" Clark. He is survived by his wife of 58 years (Sharon), sons Richard (Andrea)

and Michael (Jodi) and daughter Angela (Brent) as well as grandchildren Kenzie Emerson

(Nathan), Bailee Clark, Johnathan Clark, Alexandra "Lexie" Clark, Sarah Clark, Abigail "Abby"

Clark, Jacob Schmitten, Kaylynn Schmitten and great-grandchildren Brock and Addie Emerson.

John is also survived by his sister Lynnette (James) Hall, brother Elton "Butch" (Sharon) Clark,

mother-in-law Mildred Welch, sister-in-law Dianne (Rich) Moore, sister-in-law Diane Clark and

many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will take place on April 22, 2023 at the VFW hall in Priest River,

Idaho at 12:00pm. Charitable donations may be made in John's name to Saint Jude's Children's

Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee or Care House Learning Center in Nampa, Idaho.