Clark, Vernon L. "Potsy" 1924-2005

CLARK, GILES, GILBERT

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 12/5/2005 at 15:44:20

PRAIRIE CITY — Vernon L. "Potsy" Clark, 81, of Prairie City died Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005, at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

Visitation will be held Tuesday at Coburn Funeral Home in Prairie City from 2 to 8 p.m. The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Following visitation, his body will be cremated and a memorial graveside service will be held next spring. Memorials may be given to the Iowa Veterans Home and left at the funeral home.

The son of L.T. and Mary Cathrine (Giles) Clark, he was born Feb. 6, 1924, in Prairie City. He graduated from Prairie City High School in 1941. Following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on the destroyer USS Norman Scott for two years in the South Pacific during World War II. On June 7, 1947, he married Mary Alyce (Gilbert) in Atchison, Kan.

Mr. Clark worked for William Brothers Pipeline Company in Des Moines, was a lock and dam operator on the Mississippi River in Muscatine and retired in 1985 after being a rural mail carrier in Prairie City. He was a member of the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, the Rural Letter Carriers Association and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. He also was a 58-year member of the Monroe American Legion Post 363 and enjoyed southern gospel music.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Kathy Eshelman of Des Moines; a son Danny Lee (Lanete) Clark of Hurst, Texas; and five grandchildren; a sister Joy Emmack Machin of Newton; and a nephew.

His parents and an infant son, Thomas James, preceded him in death.

The Newton Daily News, Friday, November 18, 2005