Owen Clark

Owen Clark, age 93, passed away on July 20, 2021 in Bellingham, WA. He was born Ellison Owen Clark in Jacksonville, Florida in 1927, but he was always known as Owen. He grew up traveling seasonally between New York and Florida as his dad managed Biltmore Hotels up and down the East Coast. His early love of travel was cemented during the road trips that he took in a Model T with his Grandpa Frank and Grandma Kiddie Co. A public relations job brought the family to California, and it was there that Owen chose to leave high school early to enlist in the Navy during World War II. He became a ball turret gunner in Grumman TBM Avenger and after the war settled in Pasadena, CA. He worked at a variety of jobs, including electrical lineman, truck driver, and owner of two different gas stations. He always had a side business of some kind, from stringing holiday lights for city decorations to running Christmas tree lots. His real talent was as an entrepreneur, and he worked his way up from being a salesman for a pest control company to starting one of his own. He moved his young family to the then-tiny town of Saugus, California to launch a new pest control business. That business still survives today and is run by his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson (Owen Dhu, Vicki, and Chris Clark)— three generations tied together in shared purpose and in caring for their families. Along the way, Owen met the love of his life, Katie. Together they raised kids (his, hers, and theirs) and found a way to live out their dreams. Owen was a gifted tinkerer, builder, and maker. He built the playground equipment and shelving for the preschool where Katie was the newly hired director. He bought an old moving van and converted it to a camper. He and Katie chose a lot in the Sierra Nevada mountains and bought a kit cabin to put on it. Owen gathered some talented friends and in 8 days they had the shell of this cedar log cabin assembled and under cover of a roof— imagine a set of full-size Lincoln logs for adults, with the scent of a cedar closet. After the shell was up, Owen worked slowly on the inside, custom building kitchen cabinets, benches, and tables. He put in a Franklin style stove (from the Sears catalog!) and later added a furnace when the heat wasn’t adequate. He became a private pilot for the sheer joy of it, and then owned three different planes in partnership with a flying club. Volunteer work in church and community was a huge part of his life. Owen and Katie both earned advanced degrees as they launched new careers for each of them in marriage, family, and child counseling. Along the way, they fostered their love of travel and added motor homing to their list of hobbies. Eventually, they would leave those careers behind to become full-time RV travelers as they toured Alaska, Mexico, New England, and more as part of life on the road. When the time came to settle down again, he and Katie spent 10 years in Virginia before moving to Bellingham in 2014. His love of family and children held the bonds of family together. He had a wonderful laugh, loved to sing, was known to tap dance, always had a harmonica handily stowed in a pocket or bag, and he gave the greatest hugs of all time. He could MacGuyver a solution to nearly any problem, and he will be sorely missed by us all. Owen is preceded in death by his parents James Calderwood Clark and Helen Amos, his brother William Clark, and daughter Loralee Clark. He is survived by his beloved wife Catherine “Katie” Parker (Searls) Clark, children Owen Dhu Clark (Victoria), Leslie Nathaniel, and Matthew Taylor Clark (Norene), grandchildren Christopher Owen Clark, Alexander James Clark (Cash), Nathaniel Clark Fitzgerald, Kaila Jean Makana Nathaniel, Kalea Marie Keona Nathaniel, Brody Bo-you Clark, greatgrandchildren Porsche Clark, Daisy Clark, Megan Clark, Millicent Blythe Clark, Jude Clark, and Levi Clark, and brother James Clark (Patti). A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 14th at 10:00 a.m. at Moles Farewell Tributes – 2465 Lakeway Dr. Bellingham, WA, with a reception following. Donations in memoriam can be made to the Nature Conservancy at: https://preserve.nature.org/page/81523/donate/1, with notice to memory@tenlakes.com.

Owen Clark

July 26, 1927 - July 20, 2021