Joseph Ignatius Clark Jr.

Joseph "Joe" Ignatius Clark, Jr., 82 of West Bloomfield, MI, passed away at home on April 4, 2023. Joe was born on November 26, 1940 to Joseph Ignatius Clark, Sr and Sarah Adele Clark (ne´ e Risdon) in Detroit, Michigan. After Joe graduated from Our Lady of Sorrows High School, he worked at his family's business Risdon Creamery in Detroit.
In late 1965 he met Betty Kay Hood, also an employee at the creamery. They married on January 29, 1966. Joe and Betty went on to have three children April, Emily and Sarah Bateman (ne' e Clark), 15 dogs, 5 cats, a school of fish, several teddy bear hamsters, 2 parakeets and one cockatiel named Sammy who was known to whistle the Andy Griffith theme song.
Joe went on to work in car sales for various automotive companies including Cadillac, Ford, GM rising to the position of General Manager at Anderson Honda. Toward the end of his career, he joined his wife in Real Estate and became a licensed realtor.
He developed a passion for cars which lasted throughout his life. As a teen and young adult Joe was one of the original Dream cruisers, spending his time fixing, assembling and drag racing on Woodward. His hobbies moved toward watching stock car racing, and working on crew with friend and neighbor, Marvin and Ike Beasley's number 97 Sprint car.
Joe leaves behind his loving wife, Betty, his daughters April Kathleen, Emily Christine, Sarah Elizabeth and son-in-law David William Bateman. Also surviving are his granddaughter, Adele Luna Bateman, grandson, Errol William Bateman, many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews originating from parental lines of Gronkowski, Hood and Wiesner.
Joe is survived by his sister, Mary Jo Geistler (ne´ e Clark). He was proceeded in death by his sister, Patricia Ann
Gronkowski (ne´ e Clark).
Services will be held at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 340 North Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake (3 Blks. S. of Maple Rd.), MI on Wednesday April 12, 2023. Visitation will begin at 10 A.M., and the service officiated by Rev. Jarrod Dillon starts at 11:00 A.M.
In leu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Michigan Animal Rescue League (marl.org) or the American Heart Association https://www.heart.org/.