George Owen Clark
George Owen Clark, 76, passed away unexpectedly on April 13th. Owen, as he was known to all was born October 30, 1944 in Denver, Colorado to Owen Clifford Clark, MD, and Grace Loraine Gaspar.
Owen graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Upon graduation he entered the Navy and served during the Vietnam War on the USS Hornet and Yorktown Naval ships. He was a very proud Vietnam Veteran. He was also a strong supporter of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. During his service, he traveled to China, the Philippines and Australia.
In 1967, he married Maria Luisa Freeman and together they raised three children. They traveled extensively all over the US, Japan and parts of Asia. They were married for 41 years until Maria’s passing in 2008.
Owen was a man of many talents and interests. A few of these were, as a San Diego, California, motorcycle police officer; a real estate agent; a Mayflower Moving and Storage driver and estimator; a liaison between the Navy and Kaman Aerospace Corporation; a journeyman electrician; a construction/project manager for Turner Construction: an electrical contractor and inspector. Owen really loved to help anyone with any projects they needed done and loved to stay busy. He went out of his way to find people to help with their individual projects.
He loved traveling in his big rig motorhomes, walking every morning with friends, and meeting his buddies for early morning coffee every week, in every town he lived in. He was the ultimate volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, The Meadowlark Senior Center, in Rio Rancho, NM, and the Azle Community Caring Center in Texas, sharing his time and his big heart. He left a huge, positive impact in every community he lived in from San Diego, California to Dentsville, Maryland, Subic Bay, Philippines, to Rio Rancho, NM & finally in Azle, Texas.
Owen married Jacquolyn Gibbons, in December of 2018. They were married for 2 years before Jackie’s sudden death in January of this year, just 10 weeks before Owen’s passing.
Owen and Jackie traveled to Germany for Octoberfest and all over the United States in his Safari motorhome visiting friends, family, many National Parks and so many points of interest.
He is preceded in death by “the two loves of his life,” his parents and older brother, James A Clark. Left to cherish his memory are his younger brother, Charles Clark, and niece Susan Clark, Owen’s three children, Jenelle Salazar, Gary Freeman and Jeanine Patterson, his step-sons Todd Gibbons and Brett Gibbons; grandchildren Richard Stroble, Natalie Chavez, Cheyenne Freeman, Tiffany Bankhurst, Jessica Thompson and Chelsea Ramirez along with 11 great-grand children.
Funeral arrangements will be at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico on Saturday, July 10th at 10:30 am followed by his burial at Vista Verde Memorial Park. Reception and refreshments to follow.
Memorials can be made out in his name to any of his favorite Charities or Organizations: American Legion; Rotary International; The Kiwanis Clubs of Imperial Beach, CA and Charles County, Maryland, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Elks Club in Rio Rancho, the National Rifle Association and Wounded Warriors.