Clark Joseph Brecht

Clark Brecht was born in Manchester, Iowa and spent his early years on the family farm. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and trapping from an early age. His Uncle Jack introduced him to radio, the electronics of the day. At 16 Clark found his first electronics job at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids. He joined the Navy at 18 and served four years at Great Lakes and San Diego in the Special Weapons Unit. After returning for to Iowa for a couple of years, Clark took a position with Federal Electric on Vandenburg AFB. He moved his family to Lompoc where he and his wife Marilyn raised five children. Hunting, boating and fishing were part of life. There is the story of the boat losing power and tangling with an oil derrick. There are stories about launching boats off the pier at Gaviota. Clark was a deer hunter and often mentioned that his young children did not know what MacDonald's hamburgers tasted like. He continued to make a living with TV repair and had his own business, Clark's TV. Between business contacts and membership in Elks Lodge 2274, Clark knew many local people. When travelling in later years, he would be genuinely disappointed if he did not run into someone he knew from Lompoc.

In 1990 Clark was working for McDonell Douglas on Vandenburg AFB and accepted a job transfer to Long Beach. There he installed electronic control systems in MD11 aircraft. The following year he moved again to the small town of Aromas in the Monterey Bay area. It was home for the next 30 years. Clark continued in TV and electronics repair and finally with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing. There he was an electronics technician supporting engineers and scientists in ocean research. It was not uncommon for a scientist to come to his lab with a request and plans for a unique device needed for a project. Clark built "fanny pack" control systems for the Institute's remote underwater vehicles called ROVs. He was a member of a team that serviced MBARI instrument moorings miles at sea. Clark volunteered to climb on the six foot diameter moorings that held solar panels above and instruments and sensors far below the surface. At home there was even more sea time during free time. Many a dark Saturday morning Clark would hook up his boat and launch at Moss Landing for a day of fishing. The result was usually the best salmon or halibut ever put on a grill. He enjoyed travelling and trips with some adventure. He fished the gulf coast of Florida to Loreto, Mexico to Lake-of-the-Woods on the Canadian border. At the Smithsonian in Washington DC Clark saw everything but the rocks and reptiles. He laid on the floor of the Capitol and looked up at the rotunda ceiling. In Idaho it was required to stop at the museum of Philo Farnsworth inventor of television. From Yellowstone to Mendocino to the San Juan Islands, years of travel in the west was the best. Clark remained active after retirement. He worked part time, took his dog for long walks everyday and hunted occasionally. He called himself a cowboy cook and enjoyed entertaining on his porch. The glass was never empty in his house. He bought boats, made them perfect then sold them to someone else. No one ever knew how many boats Clark had owned. He was his own man, worked hard, enjoyed life and did a lot that he wanted to do. He leaves a void that cannot be filled.

Clark is survived by his wife JoAnne (San Clemente), his children: Lisa Garrotte (Santa Maria), Chris Brecht (Lompoc), Victor Brecht (Lompoc), Linda Dalberg (Nipomo), Brian Brecht (Lompoc); sisters Charlotte Rhoden (Crystal Lake Il) and Sandra Boddicker (Cedar Rapids, IA); seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren; and two stepchildren: Margaret Andrews (Roseville, CA) and Ryan Andrews (San Clemente, CA)