In Memory

Bruce Clark

Bruce R. Clark

May 30, 1945 - January 17, 2014

Bruce R. Clark, blessed be the name of the Lord, he is with his Heavenly Father. Loving husband of 47 years to Linda R. Clark (nee: Kucik); dear son of Mildred and the late Harry Clark; devoted father of Todd (Jennifer) Clark, Jill (Robert) Cookerly, Jason Clark, and Joy (David) Tettamble; cherished grandfather of Nicholas, Jordan, Ricky, Mikayla, Noah, Jacob, Benjamin, Rocco, Mia, and Max; dear brother of Dona (Bill) Trlak, Carol (Phil) Miglioratti, and Mark (Robin) Clark.

Bruce was a vice president of contracts at Aclara before he retired. He was also a member of the First Baptist Church of Harvester, and a former Officer of St. Louis Chapter of National Contracts Management Association. In his spare time, he enjoyed golf, bible study, and swimming. He is a child of God, and a godly man who cherished his family more then anything else in life.

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02/15/14 09:37 AM #1    

Marjorie Pomonis

Deepest sympathy to Bruce's family. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Margie Pomonis

02/15/14 11:10 AM #2    

John Hill

Bruce was my football teammate on the 1956 and 57 Portage Park 49ers aka Junior Bears, as well as a good friend throughout the days at Schurz.

You know, dear Linda, that Bruce was a superb football player as well as a top swimmer.  In fact, the 1956 Portage Park club, of which he was a starter at 11 yrs old, had arguably the best record of any football team in history, including the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins.  We went undefeated with no points scored on us the entire year, and the championship game saw our biggest victory ever at 30-0 over Washington Park.  The coach, an All American from the '45 Schurz team and later the 49 Northwestern team, gave us all $2.00 after the game.

 

Bruce was a great football player.  He had superb natural balance, and would have been great had he played at Schurz.  However he was such a great swimmer, that he chose to focus on that.  He had a manuver as running back where he would get his shoulder under any would-be tackler so as to deflect his motion and run through the tackle.  I replicated that move on the goal line as a Lane tackler approached me on the winning TD in our '62 championship game.  I of course have replayed that game and that run thousands of times in my brain, and let me tell you Linda, I always have thought fondly of Bruce while doing so.

Bruce did so well at everything he did, and was a true Champion in the purest sense of the word.

 

I join our classmates in expressing deepest condolences to you and your family on his passing and shall put you in my prayers, hoping the Good Lord can give you some solace as you work through this sorrowful period.

 

God Bless Bruce's Memory

 

John Hill


02/15/14 08:48 PM #3    

Christine Kaufman

Linda, I am so sorry to learn about Bruce's death.  I hope you are being lifted up by the love of your family and friends.  I will keep you in my heart.

Chris Kaufman


02/15/14 10:06 PM #4    

Mona Dawn Vreuls (Edwards)

John, you expressed our condolences so well....thank you for that.  He was a fun loving student, and I suspect, carried that with him all through his career!    Thank you Bruce for being a part of our lives!

 


02/16/14 12:13 PM #5    

Edward Weyna

May the Lord bless and keep him

Ed Weyna


02/16/14 02:34 PM #6    

Teodora Kalbarczyk (Machalski)

On behalf of my sister Kathy and me, our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time. May you find comfort in your fond memories of Bruce and hold those memories in your heart forever.


02/17/14 06:46 AM #7    

Gilbert O'Brien

Bruce was one of my first friends at Portage Park School, which harks back to kindergarten in 1950, and I was saddened to hear of his death.  Untimely death, I should say.  Too soon, too soon.  He was one of the people I'd been looking forward to seeing at our reunion last year and I was disappointed then not to see him.  He was, as John notes above, a great sportsman, and even my brothers -- both of them in their late 70s now -- remember him from Portage Park swimming pool days in the 50s.  He and I often swam in the same races, but he had more stamina than ever I had and was always going to be the front runner.  I can only hope his passing was without pain and that his family finds comfort in the qualities of his life which will be with them for many years to come.


02/17/14 06:53 PM #8    

Robert Biddle

Linda, I'd like to add my condolences to you and your family over the loss of Bruce.  Like John Hill I remember Bruce from Junior Bears but even more in the high school years.  He was a great friend during those years.  I feel bad that our paths didn't cross much after college.

What do I remember about Bruce?  I remember what an awesome competitor he was.  No challenge was ever too much for him.  He was truly a man's man!  I marveled at watching him compete in the pool.  Whether it was swimming the butterfly or even more when he played water polo.  I am sure he competed in life the same way he competed in the pool!!

I also can't help but remember your wedding.  You and Bruce were the first of the group to get married and I remember the sophmoric stunt we played by hooking a ball and chain to Bruce's leg!  I don't think your parents thought it was as funny as we did!!

 I'm so happy to see the family that you and Bruce have raised. I'm sure this is tough on them as well.

I will keep all of the Clark's in my prayers.


02/18/14 12:51 PM #9    

David Hilgenberg

Like all of the previous comments, I was shocked to hear of Bruce’s death.  I became Bruce’s friend early in high school.  I believe it was in print shop class.  The great gift given to me by Bruce in that class was a piece of advice that changed my life forever – skip the shop classes and prepare for college – which he and I did, along with our many other close friends at Schurz.  Others have spoken of Bruce’s considerable skills in sports including water polo and swimming, always modest as to his many accomplishments.  As all of us know, he was extremely intelligent and driven and was deservedly elected as Most Likely to Succeed, which it appears he did both in his career and family.

And yes, thanks to Bob Biddle refreshing my memory regarding Bruce and Linda’s wedding. We were all  a little crazy then. I vaguely remember diving into someone’s pool in my tuxedo after the wedding.  After that celebration, we all seemed to go our separate ways and I deeply regret not staying in touch over the years.    

Bruce, rest in peace.


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