Henry W. Clark

Henry W. Clark, 82, of Geneseo, mercifully passed to his Father, Wednesday, July 1, 2015, at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf, IA.  A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7th at First Lutheran Church in Geneseo, where he was a lifelong member. Military Honors will be accorded by Don Cherry VFW Post #5083.  Reverend Al Beck will officiate.  Inurnment will follow at Liberty Cemetery, in Atkinson, IL.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, from 10-11 a.m. at the church.  Cremation Rites have been accorded.  Memorials may be made to the Henry W. Clark Memorial Fund.  Vandemore Funeral Homes, Geneseo is assisting the family with arrangements.

Henry was born March 13, 1933, to Harold W. and Mildred (Gustafson) Clark in Geneseo.  He proudly served in the Army with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg from March 1953 until March 1955. From there, he would ride his Harley Davidson round trip on the weekends to see his future wife, Shirley Thomlinson, of Swedona, IL.

Henry and Shirley were united in marriage, September 25, 1955, at the Swedona Lutheran Church.

In 1956, Henry was employed by the United States Post Office in Geneseo as a letter carrier, then as a rural carrier.  Henry was credited with logging over a million miles on his routes.  He retired from the U.S.P.S. in 1986.

Henry loved to travel.  He and Shirley traveled to Sweden and Hawaii several times, and to Alaska, via motor home.  They also traveled between Missouri and Michigan with their horses, Cricket and Trapper, trail riding.

Being an avid outdoorsman, Henry loved hunting, fishing, camping with family, and his passion - fur trapping.  He owned and operated Clark Trap Supply, and taught several trapping classes locally and in the Chicago area. He had two instructional books published.  He also traveled to Canada and Alaska several times on hunting and fishing trips.  Henry was inducted into the Illinois Trappers Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

He enjoyed watching the Cubs and loved playing softball.  He played church league softball into his sixties.

Henry was a member of the Geneseo Rifle Club, and he won many awards for his target shooting skills.  He was also a member of the Izaak Walton League and Cambridge American Legion.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley; children, Michael W. (Connie) Clark, Geneseo, Il, Christina (James) Chapman, Albany, IL, and Alan (Natasha) Clark, Corpus Christi, TX; five grandchildren, Angelique and Alexandria Clark, Mathew and Michelle VanOpdorp, and Gabriel Clark; three great-grandchildren, Levi VanOpdorp, Aiden VanOpdorp, and Aidlynn Wexell; step-grandchildren, Brice and Erica Johnson; step-great-grandchild, Hadleigh Mendoza.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Vivian, and great-grandson, Shawn.

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