Obituary of Kenneth Stuart Clark

Kenneth S. Clark of El Dorado Hills, CA died on February 16, 2024 at the age of 92.

He was born on October 21, 1931 and grew up in Montague. He graduated from Turners Falls High School in 1949 and was vice-president of his graduating class. After graduation, he attended Northampton Commercial School and graduated in 1950. He married the love of his life, Joan Webster in July of 1955 and they were married for over 68 years. He and Joan had 3 children together. His post-high school education led to his career in finance; first as a bookkeeper for various local organizations before becoming Assistant Treasurer for the Greenfield Co-operative Bank in 1958. He was later the manager of the Orange branch. He worked for the bank from 1958-1980. In 1980, he and Joan moved to Sacramento, CA.

Within a few years, 2 of his children also migrated to California. The good weather agreed with Ken, and despite being a die-hard New Englander at heart, he lived the rest of his life in the Sacramento area. He said that it took him many years of living in California to realize that he “did not have to take advantage of every day of good weather”, as a true New Englander knows to do. He continued his career in California as a financial analyst at The University of California at Davis from 1981 until his retirement in 1992, a day that he had looked forward to for many years.

In his free time, he enjoyed spending time with family, and watching baseball while drinking a beer or two. He was always loyal to the Boston Red Sox and later to the San Francisco Giants as well. He and Joan also enjoyed trips back to New England to visit family, as well as annual trips to Pacific Grove in Monterey, CA to see the ocean. In addition, he and Joan volunteered for 15 years for a CA charity “Christmas Promise” which entailed shopping and wrapping gifts with other volunteers for hundreds of needy families in Sacramento every November and December. Ken was a wonderful husband and father. He was also a very clever man, with a quick wit and a great sense of humor. Many extended family members will remember the humorous books he would put together for family reunions on many holidays. Of course, the humor was always (gently) aimed at the family but it was done so cleverly, no-one really minded. Or if they did, they never said so aloud.

Ken was predeceased by his parents, Alfred S. Clark and his mother, Edith (Volkman) Clark, as well as his sister, Katherine Levan, and his brother, Richard. He is survived by his wife Joan of El Dorado Hills, CA, and his 3 children: Jonathan Clark of Folsom, CA; Jennifer Roberts and her husband Scott of Colrain, MA; and Kimberly Mahoney and her husband Howard of El Dorado Hills, CA. The family would like to extend their gratitude to the care staff at Royal Garden, and the hospice team from U.C. Davis, who helped to make Ken’s final days as comfortable as possible. Ken will be greatly missed by his loving family. We are glad that we had him for as long as we did. To send a message to the family, or to share a memory about Ken, please go to Placervillefuneralandcremation.com.