Lt. Ralph B. Clark
Lt. Ralph B. Clark, 89, passed away Friday, April 22, 2011, following a brief illness. He was born in Chicago Oct. 1, 1921. He lived briefly in Boston, Mass., and spent his formative years in Urbana, Ill., where he graduated from Urbana High School in 1939. That fall he enrolled in the University of Illinois where his father, Dr. George L. Clark, was head of the Analytic Chemistry Department. He pledged Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and met Betty Lou Gibson, a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, who was an undergraduate in communications, from Galion, Ohio.
With the prospect of the nation’s involvement in World War II, Ralph and Betty Lou were married Aug. 29, 1942, the beginning of their senior years at the University of Illinois. After he graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, Ralph entered the service as a Naval officer and served as the commander of a LCI ship in the Pacific while Betty Lou worked at the Indianapolis Star as a reporter until the end of the war.
Over the years. Lt. Clark was employed by Lima Locomotive Works, Letourneau Westinghouse and spent 30 years as a project engineer with Caterpillar Tractor Company in Mossville, Ill. Following his father’s death in 1969, he served as a member of the board of directors of Merchants Property Insurance of Indiana, a company that was founded by his grandfather in 1917.
He had a passion for jazz music, which included avid playing of his beloved “Hanes” flute. He carried his “axe” to every jazz concert in South Florida where he was routinely asked to “sit in.” He served as a board member of both the South Florida Friends of Jazz and the Sunshine Jazz Organization (SJO), where he authored a regular column in the SJO newsletter, and for over 20 years.
His love of steam locomotives lead him to becoming a well-respected photographer of steam locomotives with many of his photographs being published. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion, having served as past commander of Post 318 in Morton, Ill., where he was also a member of the 40 and 8. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a lifetime member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association.
After retiring from Caterpillar in 1984, he and Betty Lou moved to Miami later that year. Betty Lou preceded him in death in 1991. In 2009, he relocated to Gulf Coast Village in Cape Coral where he lived until his death.
He is survived by his three children, Christopher Gibson of Morton, Ill., Sara Jane Flesner (Walter) of Fort Myers and Scott Burnett (Peter J. Olde) of Miami Shores, Fla. He is also survived by his five grandchildren, Justin Clark (Sarah Konsky), Jeffrey Clark (Mindy), Jared Clark, Clark Flesner and Leslie Flesner; and his great-grandson, Jonah Clark.
Final services will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana, Ill., at a later date.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Sunshine Jazz Organization of South Florida Inc., PO Box 381038, Miami, FL, 33238.
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