Wayne Shelby Clark

Wayne Shelby Clark was born March 5, 1936 in Anacortes, Washington to Shelby and Kathy Clark. Wayne attended grade school in Anacortes until age ten, and he grew up watching his father work in the Anacortes shipyard building liberty ships for the war effort. After WWII ended, Wayne’s father felt called to be a home missionary to Alaska, and so the family moved to Anchorage for a few months in 1946, then on to Sitka. The family built the first permanent Assembly of God church there. They lived in the Baranof Castle on a waterfront hill overlooking the town during the church’s construction. Their living quarters were on the first floor and the church facilities on the second. The city of Sitka rented the Castle to the Clarks for $1 a year!

In 1949, the family was called by the denomination to Fort Benton, Montana for a few months, then on to Havre, Montana to lead a church there. Wayne was thirteen. He watched his parents work hard to make ends meet between their family of four and their church congregation. Wayne’s reflections of being a “PK” – a preacher’s kid – were proud and distinctive. Whenever he met another “PK” throughout his life, he forged a unique bond. The years were lean but Wayne was not introverted. His mother told the story of the family going out to breakfast one day on vacation and despite their meager means, Wayne spoke right up to the waitress and announced, “I’ll have some bacon!” His mom and dad were privately stunned and hoped they had enough money to pay the tab. These were early signs of Wayne enjoying eating out and having a mind of his own!

When Wayne was a junior in high school, his parents made one final ministry move to Scobey, Montana, and during his senior year, the family moved to Latah, Washington. In high school, Wayne excelled in music and he also served as “house photographer”, demonstrating a keen eye behind the camera at many school and church events. Upon graduating from Latah High School in 1954, Wayne was offered multiple music scholarships for voice; he accepted one from Washington State College (now WAZZU). He also played the trumpet and his case was emblazoned with the monogram “WSC”; we always thought these were his monogram initials, not those of the college.

Wayne developed a keen interest in airplanes during his youth, and so after one year at WSU, he joined the United States Air Force in June 1955. Shortly after boot camp, he was sent to Donaldson Air Force Base in Greenville, South Carolina where he was the squadron photographer. He met a young lady named Beatrice Wooten at church, but Bea was dating another young man at the time. Wayne pursued and won out, and in three short months, they were married in February 1956. Bea was an only child of a single mother, so Wayne had not only to win her mother’s trust, but her heart. He did so in spades. The couple married and bought an aluminum trailer, living in Greenville for the next couple of years. When Wayne was sent to Alaska by the Air Force in 1958, they drove their home on wheels across the country, managing to only hit one cow on the way. He attained the rank of Airman/2C, and landed the ideal assignment – taking photographs of and inside US aircraft. He would crawl through fuel tanks and fuselages to capture pictures of damage assessments and maintenance needs. Wayne and Bea returned home to the Pacific Northwest when he was honorably discharged in March 1959.

Shortly thereafter, the couple celebrated the birth of their first daughter, Cheryl, in January 1960. Their second daughter, Darlene, came along three and one-half years later, making their family complete. Throughout the years, there was always music, be it playing the trumpet or trombone in the church orchestra, singing special solos or duets, singing in the choir, or enthusiastically collecting and playing gospel quartet music on their “Hi Fi”. Both Wayne and Bea enjoyed listening to and singing hymns and four-part harmonies.

Over the years, Wayne doted on his daughters. He forged a special bond with Cheryl over science fiction topics and enjoyed lake and ocean fishing with Darlene. He built models for school science projects and encouraged the girls in their interests – baking, shopping, sewing, youth group activities. Wayne taught Sunday School for several years and he also served as a Royal Ranger Commander for the boys program, going on campouts and helping them earn achievement badges. Wayne was creative; when he got involved in something, he was “all in” – filling in every little detail to make his effort complete.

In 1970, Wayne went to work for The Boeing Company. Mainframe computers really began to make their mark on American business in this decade. Wayne’s interest was piqued. He began to learn all he could and to teach himself some of the early programming languages – FORTRAN and COBOL. Wayne segued into a computer career via computer graphics. He eventually moved up to computer operations, then programming. Wayne left Boeing for a period of time, working for a few other logistics companies in computer systems roles. Eventually, he worked his way back to what had become Boeing Computer Services, retiring as a Systems Analyst at age 58.

As the computer age gained momentum, with UPC codes appearing on consumer goods, personal computers making their way into every home in America, and the intranet’s birth, Wayne was captivated. His years of studying Biblical prophecy gained clarity. He could begin to understand how “the two prophets would lie dead in the streets for three days and the whole world would see it” because of the intranet. He could envision a one-world government and monetary system through super databases and the cloud. As science and technology advanced the study of the universe, Wayne connected the dots regarding the “signs in the heavens” discussed throughout the Bible. And as political forces drove the delicate balance of power in Israel ever forward, Wayne witnessed the Jews of the diaspora return home by the thousands. He took all of this knowledge and understanding and made it plain to others, teaching and recording many lessons on Bible prophecy. This is one of Wayne’s most profound and lasting legacies – his deep love for Bible prophecy, the special understanding God imparted to him and his education of others.

Wayne and Bea traveled and enjoyed their retirement to the hilt. They took multiple cruises and made several trips to Wayne’s favorite destination – Hawaii. They also were blessed to see the Holy Land during their still-healthy years. In 2006, Wayne contracted an infection in his left leg. In part, due to diabetes and the difficulty for his body to be able to heal, his leg was amputated. It was during this time that Wayne also developed end stage renal failure and commenced kidney dialysis on a regular basis for the rest of his natural life. Between the ages of 70 – 82, Wayne struggled with multiple health issues, but he beat the odds more often than anyone would have believed. Perhaps surprising to some, Wayne had a very soft side, and he was a pushover to the wiles of a cute stuffed animal, a Precious Moments figurine, a collection of wind-up and tin toys, and his daughters’ cats. He savored a good steak and we joked that perhaps it was his love of seafood that fostered his having nine lives.

Throughout his lifetime, Wayne developed, nurtured and maintained many, many hobbies and interests: aviation, model airplane building, photography, church orchestra member and vocalist, coin collecting, science fiction devotee, golf, reading, card playing, Bible prophecy scholar and teacher, traveler, and “foodie”. Many of these avocations seemed to intertwine with one another in artful ways. Some examples include being able to work as a photographer in the Air Force and for Boeing, becoming interested in Bible prophecy and the myriad of tie-ins with computer science, collecting foreign coins from the many places traveled. Even in his last two years of life, Wayne completed a rigorous Stephen’s Ministry course for laypeople – learning Biblical and practical ways to minister to others in need. In short, Wayne was both an interested and an interesting, lifelong scholar, to the glory of Christ. Only the gradual breakdown of his physical body slowed his appetite for reading, studying, and learning.

Next to being a devoted husband and father, Wayne was a faithful follower of Christ, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, eagerly anticipating the day he could finally see Messiah – whether here on earth or in heaven. Perhaps it was his ministerial upbringing. Or perhaps it was the spark within Wayne’s heart in 1948 when he and a friend heard the breaking news that Israel had become a nation and he knew in his spirit this was something supernatural and eternal. Although he never spoke of it, Wayne (and Bea) supported sending the Book of Hope, detailing the gospel in easy-to-understand colored pages, to children around the world for over a quarter of a century. They staunchly and generously supported Israeli ministries so that God’s chosen people throughout the world might come to know Messiah. Indeed, Wayne knew some significant challenges in his lifetime, though he never departed from the way of the cross. He was unashamed of the gospel, a valiant soldier until his passing on December 8, 2018.

Wayne is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Cheryl and Greg Niemela of Puyallup, WA; his daughter and son-in-law, Darlene and Steve Crowder of Issaquah, WA; grandson Geoffrey Niemela of Puyallup; grandson and wife Matthew and Hannah Niemela of Tacoma, WA; granddaughter and husband, Catherine and Maxwell Marshall of Tacoma; granddaughter Rebecca Crowder of Australia; grandson Adam Crowder of Kirkland, WA; and grandson Mark Crowder of Issaquah.