Dr. Robert Masters Clark

Robert Masters Clark, 86, passed away on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Still Hopes Retirement Community. Rob was born on September 28, 1938, in Walhalla, SC, to James Roy Clark and Bertha Masters Clark. During his childhood, he spent summers at Camp Carolina as a camper and counselor. He drove the school bus at age 15 and played football as quarterback for the Walhalla Razorbacks. He immensely admired his three much older brothers and developed a lifelong group of friends in Walhalla, all who influenced him greatly and with whom he never lost touch.
Rob graduated from Walhalla High School in 1956. He attended The Citadel for his freshmen year of college and then Clemson A & M College (Clemson University) for two additional years before he enrolled in the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1959. Rob met the love of his life (future wife), Kaye, while at MUSC. They were married in 1962, and in 1963 Rob received his Doctor of Medicine from MUSC. He also received his Bachelor of Science from Clemson in 1963, which is one of his many stories.
Upon graduating from MUSC, Rob spent one year as a medical intern at the University of Alabama Medical Center, followed by two years as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy. He then completed a neurological residency at MUSC, followed by a neurosurgical residency at the University of Alabama. During this 10-year training period, Rob and Kaye's three children were born. Robert was born in 1963, Calhoun in 1966, and Gable in 1971.
In June of 1974, the family settled in Columbia, SC, where Rob began practicing neurosurgery as a partner and then a managing partner of Columbia Neurosurgical Associates, P.A. Over his 26-year medical career, Rob was President of the South Carolina Neurosurgical Society, Chief of Staff at Richland Memorial Hospital (RMH), and Co-Director of the Gamma Knife at RMH. He was on the Board of Trustees for RMH and the Board of Visitors at MUSC. He was a guest on the South Carolina Board of Examiners for medical licensure. He served as clinical assistant professor of surgery for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He was a member of multiple neurosurgical and medical associations. Rob retired in 2000, and in March of 2002, he was awarded the Southern Neurosurgical Society Distinguished Surgeon Award. Rob cared deeply about helping patients and their families through difficult medical situations. Twenty-five years after his retirement, families of former patients continue to recall the impact he had on their loved one's lives, and drawers of patient letters discovered in his file cabinet are a testament to the difference he made in so many lives.
While Rob was a dedicated and talented neurosurgeon for decades, he developed many other skills over the years. Over his life, Rob played golf, was an avid quail hunter, and took up photography and bird watching. He enjoyed fly-fishing, learning to tie his own flies and sharing expertise with grandchildren. He became an instrument-rated pilot and flew near and as far as the Arctic Circle and Baffin Island. He captained sailboats around the Virgin Islands and motorboats along the inter-coastal waterway with friends and family. He learned morse code and obtained his radio license, communicating internationally with his super powered antennae. He learned carpentry, filling his garage with assorted woodworking tools and clamps and building sandboxes for neighbors, picture frames for paintings, and window shutters for the Pawleys Island house. With his many pursuits and desire to be well-equipped, he kept Home Depot, Leatherman, Filson, Orvis, and almost Willis and Geiger, in business.
Rob enjoyed spending time at Pawleys Island, his Little Cumberland Island (LCI) home, and his North Carolina mountain cabin. At LCI, he drove his 4-wheeler around the dirt paths and beach, occasionally getting stuck in sand during an incoming tide, boated and fished in the river, and enjoyed exploring and keeping busy. Upon selling his LCI house, Rob focused on his cabin, which started out as a 1-room, dilapidated structure. With the help of home town Walhalla friends and befriended mountain locals, the cabin turned into a charming 2-room, high-ceilinged cabin that became his favorite place to spend time. Rob built a bridge designed by his grandson over the adjacent stream. He learned how to operate a large tractor, plowing fields for potatoes and then chestnut trees for the Chestnut Tree Club of America. Rob drove to and from his favorite places in his beloved 1999 Toyota Forerunner for almost 20 years, with tools safely netted down in the back, putting nearly 400,000 miles on his truck.
Rob was a mountain boy at heart, of great integrity and intelligence, who valued relationships most and was deeply committed to his family, friends, and patients. Rob was well-known for his marvelous story-telling ability and his sense of humor. During his stories, you were guaranteed to hear his chuckling laugh along with your own. Rob's faith grew enormously in his later years, and he became dedicated to serving his Sunday School class, going to men's Bible study breakfasts, and auditing seminary classes.
One day after Rob's wife died, he said to his daughter he wanted to "go home." Kaye, his wife of 63 years on April 7, 2025, was home to Rob. Rob went "home" on April 10th to be in Glory with God alongside Kaye. He will be deeply missed by family and friends.
Rob is survived by his son James Calhoun Clark (Julie) of Taylors, SC, his daughter Kathryn Gable Clark McCullough (Jonathan) of Columbia, SC, four grandchildren Katherine Scout Clark of Greenville, SC, Dallia Layne Clark of Richmond, VA, Holden Michael McCullough of Athens, GA, and Calhoun Masters McCullough of Athens, GA, and many dear cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is pre-deceased by his wife, Kathryn Lemon Clark, his parents, his three brothers, James Roy Clark, Jr., John Frank Clark, and William Kenneth Clark, his oldest son, Robert Masters Clark, Jr, and his grandson, David Masters Clark.
The service for Dr. Clark will be held on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 1 o'clock, at First Presbyterian Church, 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. A private burial at Elmwood Cemetery will precede the service.
The family will receive friends following the service at the home of his daughter, 2524 Canterbury Road, Columbia, South Carolina 29204.
The family wishes to express deep gratitude and appreciation for the staff of Still Hopes Retirement Community, especially the staff of the Saluda Skilled Nursing Unit, and to the Prisma Hospice team, particularly Dr. Karin Jenkins and Nurse Freia for their ongoing care.
Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Medical Missions, 1324 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201.
Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.