Delbert Clark Biggs

Clark Biggs, 83, died Feb. 15 in Granite Bay, of heart failure. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Shelby (Tree) Biggs, 80; and daughters Marian Young (Michael), 56, of Elk Grove; Katherine Knight (Jeffrey), 51, of Houston; and Brooke Shelby Biggs, 46, of San Francisco. He leaves four grandchildren: Shelby Young, Amanda Young, Kaitlin Knight and Erik Knight; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and admirers. Biggs was born in Eagle, Nebraska to Edith and James Franklin Biggs, with an older brother, Donald Clair Biggs (who predeceased him in 2000). The family moved to El Centro, Calif. in 1941. Clark graduated from Central Union High School, and went on to attend San Jose State University. Biggs served in Korea as a company clerk from 1954 to 1956, then returned to finish studies at SJSU. There he met fellow journalism student Shelby Tree, and in 1958 they married. Biggs began his career as a reporter on the Capitol Bureau of the Sacramento Bee, and worked for the paper for nearly a decade. He went on to manage television newsrooms at KOVR in Sacramento, and KRON and KGO-TV in San Francisco. In 1976 he was named Information Director for the California Farm Bureau Federation, a job he held until his retirement in 2002. Biggs was a lifelong die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and avid tennis player. He was master raconteur who never met a pun, an argument, or a fine cognac he didn't like. His wry sense of humor and his ability to make strangers feel like family will be sorely missed. Biggs asked that his body be donated to science. Details on memorial services to come. Donations in his memory can be made to: Cure Alzheimer's Fund.