by Eleanor Clark
Alan Roderick Clark was born on 5 May, 1938 in Champaign,
Illinois to Harry Murray Clark and Ruth Elizabeth Sommer. “Al” was the first of four children, and elder
brother to Steve, Linda, and David. Al’s parents both graduated from the
University of Illinois in 1936. Ruth graduated Phi Beta Kappa. “Murray” earned
a PhD. in chemistry in 1940.
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| Al with his mother, Ruth |
Ruth’s parents were William H. Sommer
and Emma Getz, both born in Illinois. Emma’s parents were Henry Getz and Hannah
Wenger. Al traced both sides of his maternal line to German immigrants who came
to the Midwest in the 1800s.
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| 1926 Sommer Family Trip to Wawona |
Murray’s parents were Harry Samuel Clark
and Margery Fairchild Murray. Al traced
their ancestry to colonial New England, including Abel Clark of Vermont and Mayflower
passenger Miles Standish. Al was most proud of identifying his revolutionary war
soldier, Reuben Murray of Scotland.
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| Murray and Al Clark, May 1940 |
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| Al as a young boy |
Alan began his schooling in Peoria, but when he was in third grade the
family moved to San Jose. Al attended Edwin Markham Junior High and Willow
Glen High School where he played football, baseball and trumpet in the marching
band. Alan was Class Valedictorian at graduation. He entered Stanford
University with a General Motors Scholarship in 1956 and graduated four years
later with a Bachelor of Science Degree with Great Distinction. He also received his
Phi Beta Kappa key.
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| School Age |
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| Football Team |
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| Senior Portrait |
In high school Al and several buddies rebuilt a model T in their spare
time. Flight was a lifelong interest of Al’s. He was caught up in his maternal uncle’s interest in flying; Al built wooden model airplanes which he flew. While at Stanford,
learned to fly. Every week he went home to San Jose with his
laundry, and then went to San Jose airport for flying lessons. He earned his private
pilot’s license and enjoyed treating his friends to trips around the Bay Area.
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| Siblings Steve, David, Linda and Al Clark, 1963 |
Al met Eleanor when they were embarking on a student tour
of Europe. They
enjoyed the history, art and cuisine of the countries they visited. Eleanor says
she fell in love with him in Paris, but he always said he knew it was love in
Carcassonne. They
walked everywhere and both lost weight - an added bonus to the trip. They were
married August 20, 1960 and drove across the U.S. to Princeton, New Jersey,
where Al began his graduate study. He received
his PhD in Physics in 1964, and they returned to California along with two
sons, Stuart and Douglas. They
settled in Moraga and Allison was born a year later.
Al was employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory as a
high-energy physicist for his entire career, retiring in 1998. He worked on
detectors for experimental physics projects at Stanford Linear Accelerator and
Fermi Lab in Illinois. He
was known as the “can do guy” by his colleagues, [and later by his fellow
volunteers at the California Genealogical Society]. He was the person who could
resolve the technical issues to enable the work to proceed.
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| Working on his thesis |
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Four Generations of Clark Men:
Al, Stuart (in Al's arms), Harry Samuel, Murray Clark |
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| Pescadero, 1967 |
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| Fall Harvest 1968 |
Al enjoyed fishing and skiing most of his life. Opening
day of trout season was a big event every year. The Clark
family had a cabin at Serene Lakes, which was base camp for many expeditions
both summer and winter. With
his Stanford roommates, he began an annual fishing tradition of Fall Harvest.
In the evenings and when snow prevented them from fishing, they would play
Bridge. The
family sold the cabin in 1989 and Al promised Eleanor they would finally travel
instead of having to maintain the cabin. That same
year they were invited to Puerto Vallarta with friends and fell in love with
the town and the climate. They
bought into the time share program and enjoyed annual visits and many friends
who came the same time every year.
Al and Eleanor joined First Covenant Church in 1985 and
enjoyed the many friendships they had here. Al served as
a Trustee, Deacon and usher for many years.
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| A volunteer with the CGS Computer Team |
Al was a dedicated and beloved member of the California
Genealogical Society. He was a regular volunteer on the computer team. Kathy
Watson recalled that “Al was a very organized and knowledgeable computer
volunteer. He was always supportive and helpful. He was always a joy to work
with.” His colleague from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab wrote that Al “deeply
embraced the collaborative spirit. [He] was a straightforward, kind,
scrupulously honest scientist who excelled at working seamlessly with many
colleagues.”
Al and Eleanor enjoyed Bird Watching from their home in
Moraga and on their various travels. Puerto
Vallarta was a rich source of beautiful, colorful species. It was this
interest that finally convinced Al to take a cruise, because the pre-cruise
trip to Costa Rica boasted 450 species of birds! Later, he
protested only mildly when Eleanor insisted on another cruise with the whole
family to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.
With his many interests and friends, Al enjoyed a rich
life. The members and volunteers at the California Genealogical Society will
miss him.
Al passed away peacefully on January 29, 2017. A memorial
service was held on 11 February 2017. You can read his obituary here.
Contributions in Al’s memory may be made to the California
Genealogical Society, 2201 Broadway, LL2, Oakland, California, 94612-3031.
The California Genealogical Society wishes to thank
Eleanor Clark for this tribute, which was originally written for Al’s memorial
service.
Photos provided by the Clark Family.
Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society
