Denny O. Clark Jr.

Denny was born to Barbara Ann Suarez and Denny O. Clark, Sr. on March 22, 1961. Denny’s mother having passed away at a young age, he was raised by his grandmother Grace “Nana” Butler, herself a revered and proud Key West citizen, who nurtured Denny alongside his sisters, Dennise Grace Parker and Cheryl Robinson, and brother Larry Bass.

Denny established himself as both a brilliant student and one of Key West, Florida’s great athletic products. He was a member of the championship-winning 1973 Little Major League baseball team. A plaque commemorating their championship stands at Clayton Sterling sports complex. He was a guard of Key West High School’s varsity basketball team in the years 1977-1979, captaining the team in his senior year. His Conchs teams won District titles in 1978 and 1979, defeating the likes of future NBA athletes such as Derek Harper (formerly North Shore High of Palm Beach). Denny received a nomination as a McDonald’s All-American in Basketball in his senior year of high school and accepted a full scholarship to play basketball at the University of Connecticut at Hartford.

Determining to succeed in the business world, he transferred to Florida State University in 1980 to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Management. He graduated in 1983. He then joined First Union Bank in Tallahassee, FL as a commercial banker and quickly elevated into a senior management position out of the bank’s operations in Jacksonville, FL. Upon First Union’s combination with Wachovia Bank, he was tapped by the bank’s C-suite to move to Charlotte, North Carolina and become the Director of Recruiting Solutions and a Senior Vice President at the then 3rd largest bank in America. There, he managed over 100,000 employees and won numerous awards for building world-class recruiting operations. He retired his banking career in 2007 from a position as the Managing Director of Wells Fargo’s Wealth Management Division out of Atlanta, GA. He then entered public service, taking a position as the Director of Staff Development and Training with Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice in Tallahassee, FL. He finished his career as an entrepreneur, operating a consulting firm, Pinnacle Performance Consulting, which he used to advocate for DEI initiatives and the careers of the differently-abled.

He was a beloved father, friend, husband, and mentor. He married Key West native, Adriene Leggett in 1983, raising two sons, Daniel and Emanuel, themselves going on to become a professional musician and a lawyer, respectively. In 2017 he remarried to Filiz Aktan-Clark, PhD and the two settled down in the Tallahassee, FL area. In the course of his life, he gave generously of his time, wealth, and wisdom to dozens of people and organizations throughout the Southeast, including Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Key West, FL.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Aktan-Clark, his sons, Emanuel and Daniel Clark, his brother, Larry Bass, his sister, Cheryl Robinson, his spiritual brother, Gilbert Gonzalez, newfound, and beloved, brother, Dennis Clark, and sister, Sheila Malloy, his daughter-in-law Nicola Clark, the granddaughter he adored, Ilana Claudia Yvonne Clark, as well as innumerable family and friends who loved him.

He is Home with his mother, his Nana, and his sister. The formal memorial services will be held at Trinity Presbyterian at 11AM on August 26, 2023. He loved jazz and his celebration of life will be held at Little Room Jazz Club at 5:30PM, August 26, 2023.

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