Clark, Clyde S.
4/1/2003
| Clyde was born to Mr. & Mrs. John J. Clark in Hackett, Arkansas. After attending school there and in Conway, he graduated from the Methodist Academy in Valley Springs and in 1933 from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. In 1935 he graduated from Perkins School of Theology at S.M.U. He then did additional graduate work at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He was ordained Deacon in the Missouri East Conference in 1935 and elder in 1937. After serving several pastorates in Missouri, he was appointed pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Carbondale, Illinois. In 1950 he was transferred to serve First United Methodist church in Emporia, Kansas. In 1962 Clyde became pastor of First Church, New Orleans where he led the congregation in liquidating an eight hundred thousand dollar indebtedness. After becoming my district superintendent in Alexandria in 1970, I remember him telling me that he had said to his successor at New Orleans, “You can run this church, but it will have to be from the soles of your feet and not the seat of your pants.” It was a great day for our conference when Bishop Finas Crutchfield asked Dr. Clark to become founding director of the Louisiana Methodist Foundation where he served with distinction until his retirement in 1980. He and Kay, his wife, lived in Shreveport for several years following retirement until they moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he mowed his own grass until he was 90 years old. Those of us who knew Clyde Clark will remember him as a person of conviction and tenacity, coupled with fairness and Christian ideals. It was a privilege to visit with him and Kay just months before he passed away. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Lund Clark; two sons, Norman and his wife Mary Lou of Garden City, Kansas and Skyler Duckett and his wife Cindy of Liberty, South Carolina; one daughter, Sherri D. Nilsson of Easley, South Carolina; a brother, Farris Clark and wife, Athlene of Dallas, Texas; 9 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Thanks to God for the memory of Dr. Clyde S. Clark. |
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| Source: Journal Louisiana Conference 2003 (Memoirs) | |
