December 24, 1924 - March 3, 2022
A full and happy life of 97 years
Our beloved father Albert (Knobby) Clark passed away in the early morning hours of March 3, 2022 at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, following a short illness. He was pre-deceased by his loving and patient wife Marion in 2009, and is survived by his brother Doug, children David (Paulette), Dennis (Sharon), Karen (Paul), Patti (Rick), and Gregg (Lisa) as well as many loving grandchildren and great
grandchildren.
Dad's life was one long adventure. While he worked in many professions he was unquestionably first, last and always a soldier.
When war raged in Europe he lied about his age and joined the army in 1943. On arrival in England, he was assigned to the British Airborne. Fatefully this decision became a life-long, and life-defining moment, forever shaping everything about his future and his approach to life until the moment
of his passing.
Following training Dad and his comrades were dropped into enemy territory in France on June 5,1944 with the assignment to capture and hold a bridge for the D-Day invasion the following day. While the paratroopers suffered horrific losses, their successful mission (and many others like it) made it possible for Allied forces to move inland with soldiers and supplies. During his parachute descent he received bullet burns to both legs but remained on active duty. Near the end of the war, he also received shrapnel
in his right arm near Ardennes. His experiences in battle led him to become a lifelong blood donor.
On returning to Canada, he enlisted in the permanent Canadian Army, where he served for 27 years before retiring. Twice posted in Rivers Manitoba at the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre he was responsible for both developing and testing parachutes, and training paratroopers. Between stints in Rivers, he was posted to Camp Borden Ontario as a college instructor. During his second posting in Rivers, he was seconded to serve as a United Nations peacekeeper in Africa in 1963-64 (later receiving a Nobel award and medal), and finally served as a warrant officer at Gagetown, New Brunswick.
When Dad retired from the services, he and Mom fulfilled their ambition to move to British Columbia, choosing Mission for their new home. Over the following decades he worked as a prison guard, realtor, tugboat hand, and furniture store manager before finally retiring permanently as a dispatcher at the RCMP detachment in Maple Ridge.
Dad loved family gatherings, on special occasions or really any time at all. He was was a very gregarious man, with more friends than we can count. He loved to have a good time and could always be found telling his latest joke to gales of laughter. He was a natural comedian and entertainer, and never let the facts spoil a really good story.
He was a long-time member of the Mission branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, while also presiding over his own local "branch" in his large Rec Room at home. For many years he hosted a weekly gathering of friends called the "Thursday Nighters" where glorious tales of battle and life in the armed services were told and re-told, often with varying degrees of accuracy. He also hosted a large annual Remembrance Day gathering following the Legion ceremonies, which always lasted well into the night.
Dad was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, a loyal and generous friend, and a kind and compassionate man who welcomed strangers into his home as though they were life-long friends. He had a life full of adventures, and actively lived every minute of his time on earth. His story could fill several novels.
Everyone who knew Dad will mourn his passing. We will all smile and think a kind thought whenever we speak his name, or when a thought of him crosses our minds.
No man could ask for more than that.
(At Dad's request there will be no public ceremony).