Francis Clarke Jr.

1928 - 2020

Francis Clarke, Jr.
August 8, 1928 – November 2, 2020
Resident of Concord
and San Francisco
Francis Clarke, Jr. – also known as "Red," "Frank," "Dad" and "Grandpa" to his family, friends and acquaintances – passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, November 2 in Concord, California. He will be remembered for his intelligence, love of learning, easygoing manner and sense of humor – especially his sense of humor.
Francis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the son of Francis Clarke, Sr. and Virginia (Ricks) Clarke. He graduated from Jesuit High School in New Orleans. He earned a degree in Civil Engineering from LSU in 1950. After graduation, he had a brief stint in the United States Naval Reserve. His first engineering job after graduation was in Saint Louis, Missouri. That is where he met his bride-to-be, Maureen Mary Burke.
Francis and Maureen married in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1953. This year they celebrated their 67th anniversary.
Francis's long and varied engineering career took the family to St. Louis MO, New Orleans LA, Baltimore MD, Denver CO, Riverside CA, Reno NV, Phoenix AZ and finally to San Francisco. He worked for many notable firms. Among them were the Martin Company, Rohr, IBM, General Electric, George S. May International and Bechtel. He retired from Caltrans in 1997.
His interests were many and varied. He was a true lifelong learner and an avid DIYer. He loved all things outdoors.
Francis is survived by his wife Maureen, son Francis III ("Frank", "Fred"), daughter-in-law Rosemary, son Raymond, daughter-in-law Lucila, son Theodore ("Ted"), Daughter Sarah, Daughter Charlotte Lawless, and son-in-law Greg Lawless. He had nine grandchildren: Francis ("Brian", "Frank") (deceased), Katie and Kevin Clarke; Daniel, Stephanie and Kristina Clarke; and Anthony, Margo and Brendan Lawless. His great-granddaughters are Lily, Daisy and Charlie Clarke.
A small funeral service was held in Concord, California on Wednesday, November 11 at 12:00 PM. His ashes will be interred in the family plot in St. Louis Cemetery #3 in New Orleans, Louisiana.