Russell Clark Sr.

05/07/2001

Russell C. Clark Sr., 76, of Smith Road died Monday at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester after suffering a heart attack. Born in Winsted, Conn., on Nov. 29, 1924, son of Rupert and Mary Belle Rogers Clark, he grew up in Tolland on the family farm and graduated from Westfield High School in 1943. Mr. Clark was employed by the Kimberly Clark Co. in Lee for 30 years, retiring in 1985. He moved to his log home in West Stock-bridge in 1984 from Interlaken, where he resided since 1955. He built both homes and designed many gardens in landscaping the properties. After his retirement, he taught himself the art of woodcarving, and his work was displayed at many local craft fairs and shops. He specialized in life-like decoys and Old World Santas, and most recently crafted baskets, vases and birdfeeders from decorative gourds. He enjoyed wintering in Myrtle Beach, S.C. His first wife, the former Elaine Grant, died in 1971. He leaves his wife of 25 years, the former Nancy Persing Black, whom he married Sept. 6, 1975; three sons, Russell C. Clark Jr. of Sanford, Maine, and Keith Clark and Gregory Black, both of West Stockbridge; three daughters, Heather Perez of Lenox, Linda Dutil of Waterville, Maine, and Roberta Clark of Housatonic, and 10 grandchildren. He was predeceased by an infant grandson, Christopher Clark, in 1989. Funeral Services will be Friday, May 11, at 10 a.m. from the FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, Great Barrington, with a funeral service at 11 a.m. at West Stockbridge Congregational Church, West Stockbridge, with the Rev. William Persing, and the Rev. Norman Farnum officiating. Burial will follow in the West Stockbridge Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, May 10, from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Richmond Volunteer Ambulance Squad or to the West Stockbridge EMTs in care of the Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories, and reflections for the Clark family may also be sent to finnfh@bcn.net.

Obituaries

Celebrating Lives & Legacies

Russell Clark Sr.

Memorials