Roland Clark

Roland Scott Clark

April 28, 1916 - July 21, 2014

Roland Clark, age 98, died peacefully in his sleep in Salem on July 21. He was born in Sesser, Illinois, to Rolla Scott Clark and Mattie Belle DeLapp. When he was 15 his father died, and his family moved to Salem to be near his mother's family. He graduated from Salem High School in 1934, and married Helen Stewart in 1938. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II as a flight instructor at several bases in the US and later flew in the China Burma India theater of operations. Following the war he ran a seaplane base at Coulee Dam, Washington, and flew for Aloha Airlines in Hawaii, returning to Portland in 1952 to help Helen's brother, Cliff Stewart, raise his son and daughter after the death of their mother. He worked for General Airways and Flightcraft in Portland, and for 25 years was Chief Pilot for Georgia-Pacific Corporation. In later years Roland and Helen lived at Summerfield in Tigard, where he was President of the Homeowners Association and played golf daily, walking the course until he was 92. They were members of Calvin Presbyterian Church where he served as a deacon and enjoyed his Bible Study group. Roland believed that every day was an adventure to be treasured. He was an amateur carpenter who built two homes himself, was a skilled watercolor painter, and an enthusiastic self-taught pianist and bridge player. In 2013 his health and memory began to fail, and he moved to Salem to be closer to his family.

Helen died in 2003. He is survived by niece Linda Nelson and husband Greg, nephew Bob Stewart and wife Donna, grand-nephews Barry (Heather) and David Nelson, great grand-nephews Carter and Sawyer Nelson, sister Betty Goffrier, nephews Robin and Tim Goffrier and Jack and Fred Broer, and niece Deanna Ritter. At his insistence, no services will be held. The immediate family will gather privately niche-side at City View Cemetery to celebrate and remember the life of this remarkable man who blessed and brightened the lives of many people.