Ralph B. Clark

Clark, Ralph B., died on June 6, 2009, at Anaheim Memorial Hospital at 92. Ralph is survived by his wife of 64 years, Beverly Kelley Clark, sons Dan Clark of San Clemente and Jeff Clark of North Tustin, a daughter, Pam Lavoie of Rancho Santa Margarita, 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Another son, Ralph B. Clark, II, died in February 2009. Ralph was born in Columbus, Ohio on April 11, 1917. He was 3 when his family moved to California. One of six children, he attended Blessed Sacrament School in Hollywood and then Los Angeles' Loyola High School, where he was a star athlete. Intending to become a forest ranger, Ralph enrolled at Oregon State University but dropped out to help his family through the Great Depression. He said later that President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs, and particularly a moratorium on home foreclosures, provided the Clark family with a needed helping hand through the economic hard times. In the early 1940s, Ralph worked a number of blue-collar, Depression-era jobs. In 1943 he joined the United States Maritime Service where he trained Merchant Marines in sea safety at Santa Catalina Island. It was there, while on a ferry to the mainland, that he met his future wife Beverly, who was with a group of USO girls. After the war, he began managing Los Angeles area service stations, eventually buying his own small business. Ralph became active in the Service Station Dealers Association in the 1950s, arguing against restrictive government regulations on gas stations and occasionally butting heads with big oil companies. In 1959, the year he was president of the International Service Station Dealers Association, Ralph moved to Anaheim and opened a gas station at the corner of La Palma and Magnolia. He quickly became active in local service organizations, including the Kiwanis of Greater Anaheim and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. A conservative Democrat built like an NFL lineman, Ralph was the top vote getter in the 1968 election for the Anaheim City Counsel and became the first Democrat elected to the City Council in two generations. Ralph's council colleagues chose him as mayor of Anaheim in 1969. In 1970, Ralph ran and won the first of his four full terms as supervisor, the longest tenure by any Democratic supervisor in Orange County history. As a supervisor, Ralph pushed to increase development standards, decrease residential density, and acquire parks and open space through direct purchase and developer exactions. When he became a supervisor, the county owned three regional parks, Today, Orange County has 37,000 acres of public parkland and wilderness areas, including the 105-acre Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park, named in his honor in 1987. Throughout his years of public service, Ralph was a champion for transportation improvements, an advocator for regional park expansions and a promoter of economic development, while earning a reputation as an urban environmentalist. A fiscally conservative businessman, Ralph believed in leading by example. He consistently had the lowest office budget and fewest staff members among the five supervisors. Ralph was described as "a towering figure in county government," by Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly, also a former Anaheim mayor. "He treated every constituent complaint as if it was the most important issue he had to deal with and he always brought a sparkle of Irish wit to difficult situations, particularly when he was dealing with tough transportation issues." Ralph joined the Orange County Transportation District Board of Directors in 1971, when it was in its infancy and served for 12 consecutive years as its chairman. When he joined the board, the district existed only on paper. It had no buses, no employees and faced fierce opposition from conservatives who argued against government running a countywide bus system as a public enterprise. He shrugged off the criticisms and under his strong leadership buses were purchased, drivers hired and maintenance facilities were constructed. Since that time, Orange County's bus ridership has grown to nearly 70 million boardings a year, the 12th busiest in the nation. He was instrumental in building an agency that now oversees bus operations, freeways, roads and rail. Foreseeing Orange County's growth and shifting suburban nature, Ralph worked to revitalize the county's transportation system, which led to rebuilding the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5). The Orange County Transportation Authority's success can be traced to the solid financial foundation Ralph built. He has influenced the county's freeway investments, streets, bus system and even its commuter rail program. He was a giant in Orange County's transportation development. Ralph was described as the "Godfather" of Orange County transportation by the OC Register. In 1978, Ralph made national headlines when he led efforts to lure the Los Angeles Rams to Anaheim Stadium. When the Rams moved to Anaheim, disgruntled Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn called Ralph "Orange County's biggest Ram-napper." Ralph was chairman of the Committee to Relocate the Rams in Orange County. Full-page newspaper ads were placed in the Los Angeles Times and papers in Orange County inviting the Rams to Orange County and seeking support from residents. Hahn held a press conference "declaring war" on Orange County for its "below-the-belt tactics" in response to one ad, an open letter to the Rams from the board of supervisors, chaired by Ralph. The ads prompted more than 30,000 Orange County residents to contact Ralph's office in support of the Rams, with half of those saying they would be willing to buy season tickets. The tactics were successful and Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom ultimately saw the merits of moving to Orange County and its burgeoning market over remaining in Los Angeles and playing at the aging Coliseum, built for the 1932 Olympics. After retiring from the board of supervisors, Ralph remained active in the First Friday Friars, a Catholic men's group, and the Kiwanis of Greater Anaheim. He is a past president of his Kiwanis club and was a member for 53 years. Ralph will be remembered by his friends and family as a gregarious larger-than-life figure. He had a quick wit. He loved to tell a good story and delivered a great punch-line. He could recite a 20 minute poem without a stutter and often did so, on request, with a resulting standing ovation. Ralph was a sports enthusiast and could sing the fight song of every major college in the country to prove it. He was adored by his family and was loved by his friends. Ralph knew that these were the greatest things in life and for that he knew he was a lucky man. Visitation will be on Thursday at 6:00 p.m., followed by a Rosary at 7:00 at Holy Family Cathedral located at 566 S. Glassell Street, Orange, California 92866. There will be a funeral mass held on Friday at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Family Cathedral followed immediately by a graveside ceremony at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery located at 7845 Santiago Canyon Rd., Orange, California 92869. The family has requested that contributions be made in lieu of flowers in the name of Ralph B. Clark to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 53, Anaheim, California 92815. The KCGA Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit corporation. Hilgenfeld Mortuary