William Edward Clark

May 19, 1929-September 21, 2021

William Edward Clark, age 92, passed away peacefully Tuesday September 21, 2021 in Aurora, CO. He was born on May 19th, 1929 in West Monroe, Louisiana. He was preceded in death by his parents Willie Varner and Mrytle Edna “Moma Mutt” Clark; siblings, Loyce Elton Clark, Elmer Maurice Clark, and Dorothy Clark-Fowler; son, Stephen Kirk Clark; and wife, Dorothy Anita Clark.

William is survived by his two sons, Christopher and Randy Clark; his two daughter’s-in-law, Kathy Clark and Diana Clark; his grandchildren, Chad Clark and Audrey Clark; and his three great-granddaughter’s, Kylie and Cadence Clark and Evelyn Horn.

A Celebration of Life and burial service will be held on October 22nd, 2021 from 11:00AM-12:30PM at Olinger Mortuary and Cemetery (8600 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80231).

William joined the Navy in 1945 and was stationed off the coast of San Diego, CA. After leaving the service he returned home to Louisiana and worked in construction with his father. It was during this time that he met Dorothy Anita Armstrong. They were married on February 14th, 1952 in West Monroe, LA. William and Anita led a youth group at the church they attended. They enjoyed this work greatly and one day to his surprise William was asked by the church elders to take over as the lead minister at a church location that was many miles from where him and Anita were living. William took great honor in this and decided to take the opportunity while still working construction full-time. The two would spend many hours each weekend driving to the church location and then returning to West Monroe late in the evening after Sunday services so he could be back to work Monday morning.

Before long the church called on William and Anita again to relocate to New Mexico where they asked him to build and start a new church location. They chose to answer the call and packed up their belongings along with their newly born son Randy Noel Clark, and moved to Alamogordo, NM. During this time, he continued to work as a construction contractor building residential homes and other various projects. While living in New Mexico they also welcomed their second son, Christopher Michael Clark in 1958.

After a short time in New Mexico William decided to move his family to Colorado where he started his own business a general contracting company which participated in and built many large projects such as Aurora Medical Center and multiple unique custom residential homes throughout the Denver area. In addition to his contracting business, he also built and founded his own church, “The Prince of Peace Community Church” in Denver, CO. The church was a small nondenominational church that grew to have many loyal members of which William served tirelessly. He led many overseas trips to the Holy Land of which many of his congregation had the opportunity to see and experience the locations he spoke of in his Sunday sermons. He had a great love of travel and was extremely skilled at coordinating these amazing trips. Shortly after arriving in Colorado him and Anita welcomed their third and final son Stephen Kirk Clark. Raising three boys was not for the faint of heart but William passed along his strong work ethic, love of The Lord, and his passion for hunting and fishing.

In the early 1980’s, William decided it was time to retire from the construction trade and his duties as a minister and he moved to Hot Springs, AR. He spent his free time fishing and enjoying the warm climate of Hot Springs while still completing regular missionary trips to Belize and various Native American Reservations in the southwest. His missionary efforts included collecting items such as clothing, linens, and other household items. He would personally transport them to these impoverished areas so that he could provide them to people in need, while also spreading the message of The Lord. Even when he was unable to travel and could no longer complete these missionary trips, he continued to donate large monetary gifts to the Native American tribes he had worked with for many years. Many of these funds supported the expansion of churches in these areas.

Although William was living independently and still driving past the age of 91, his health began to decline in the Fall of 2020. He decided it was best to move back to Colorado to be closer to his family so they could assist in his care. This allowed him to spend the last year of his life surrounded by not only the company of his son Chris and his daughter-in-law Kathy but also his grandson Chad and his two great-granddaughters Kylie and Cadence. They were able to spend lots of quality time together and take advantage of William’s remarkable ability to tell a great story. Chad would visit him and spend several hours listening to him tell stories about his life and experiences, many of which included the flare of his witty humor. They especially enjoyed the Sundays spent together watching football, which Chad will miss very much. In May of 2021 they were all able to be together to celebrate Williams 92nd birthday. He took great pride in the fact that he had lived to such an old age and was not shy to ask his caregivers how old they thought he was and then boast about being 92. The caregivers and nurses at his assisting living facility would regularly comment on how positive he was and the fact that he always had a big smile.

Even in his final months when his health had become much worse William still showed a servant’s heart. He was introduced to a new caregiver at his facility who was an immigrant from a country in Africa. Upon meeting him she noticed a picture on his wall that showed him in his robe and stole performing the marriage of his grandson, Chad and his wife, Anne. The caregiver asked him if he had been a Minister. He explained to her that for many years he had led his own church and about his missionary work in Belize. She told him the story of how she had found Christianity in her native country and before long they were discussing religion each time, she would come in to see him. One day, she noticed his Bible sitting his nightstand and remarked on how nice it looked and told him that she did not have one of her own and asked him where he had got it. Later that day, without hesitation, William called his grandson Chad and asked for his help in getting a new Bible for her as a gift. It gave him great joy to still be able to help another person build and strengthen their relationship with The Lord.

Although those around William will miss him dearly, they take solace in the fact that he has gone home to the Lords Kingdom and is with the family and friends that preceded him.

He wrote in his final words to his family:

“I love you all and pray for you. May God stand with you until we stand in Heaven together

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhampdenmortuary.com for the Clark family.