William (Bill) Clark

After surviving metastatic melanoma and lymphoma, Bill was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in his home in Scottsdale, AZ on December 20, 2022. Keeping his diagnosis close to the vest, never complained and lived every precious moment afforded him to its fullest.

Born at home in Port Orchard, WA on November 18, 1934, Bill grew up in Centralia. He was very close with his four Sisters, brother, and extended family, this continued throughout their lives. Bill met Bea Turner while they were both in High School. He graduated from St Martins, then on to Seattle University. After his first year there, he and Bea married. While attending classes full time, he worked nights at Fisher Flouring Mills on the loading dock. This allowed him to support his growing family. Bill graduated from Seattle U. with a degree in business, and began working for Weyerhaeuser in Washington, transferring to Oregon in 1965.

Bill was an avid lifelong sports fan. He played basketball at the YMCA, and league ball with Karr's Tavern while living in Salem. His teammates referring to him as "Sweet Willy from the Corner" for his reliable three-point shot. That name stuck as he continued to participate in competitive basketball well into his 70's in senior tournaments around the country and The World Senior Games in Utah.

The couple moved back to Seattle in 1974. In 1979 they divorced, though retaining a lifelong relationship. Bill returned regularly to Salem. Never forgetting his gym bag on those trips, he'd hit the court at the YMCA for a pick-up basketball game, and a hair cut from his long time barber.

Bill founded, SeaFresh Inc. a seafood marketing firm in the late 1970's, selling tens of millions of pounds of fresh and frozen Alaskan seafood products throughout the United States and Europe.

Bill met his future wife, Mary Hanni, in Seattle where she, too, worked in the seafood industry. The two became fast friends, fell in love and married in 1988. In 1997 Bill sold his business, and the couple moved to Scottsdale, AZ. Soon after moving they began serving as volunteers for Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded to bring individuals with special needs together with animals with special needs for healing. A very active man, Bill quickly decided retirement was not for him and began working at Desert Mountain Golf Club, where he was employed at the time of his passing. Fellow golfers may remember him for turning a round of golf into an aerobic sport with his fast-paced game. All who knew Bill will remember him as a man of integrity with unwavering optimism, an engaging smile, remarkable memory, and flawless delivery of jokes who leaves a legacy of kindness and compassion in his wake.

Clark is survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary, two of six siblings, Rosemary Elliot and Margaret Grabicki, the mother of his children Bea, Son Michael (Teri), daughters Teresa Clark, Susan (Willy) Kostenborder and Diane (Kevin) Engels, seven grandchildren, six great grandchildren and many nephews and nieces. Granddaughter Kristine Kostenborder preceded him in death and welcomed her grandpa to heaven.

Bill's wife, children and grandchildren describe him as a strong, loving, outgoing, compassionate, generous family man with a great sense of humor and adventurous spirit, who was a gifted storyteller and never spoke an unkind word to or about anyone. Bill never met a stranger. To be a friend of his was to be a friend for life, regardless of who or how you came to know him. He is deeply missed.

Services were held on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church Carefree, AZ.

It was Bill's wish that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation. Donations can be made online at www.whisperinghoperanch.org or mailed to PO Box 54070, Phoenix AZ 85078.