Dolph Clark Jr.

Dolph Junior Clark, 93, passed away peacefully on May 21, 2019. Dolph was born on a farm on June 1, 1925 in Ozan, Arkansas. He was the surviving twin with his sister being stillborn. The youngest of eight children, he was the son of the late Rodolphus and Nora Lee (Compton) Clark. He moved to Arizona at the age of 17 and remained a resident in the Phoenix area of the Valley of the Sun throughout most of his life.

Dolph is survived by his son; Duke (Mary) Clark of Dallas, daughters; Gina Beck of Wickenburg and Terri (Steve) Daugherty of Phoenix, four grandchildren; David (Leah) Clark, Douglas (Lisa) Clark, Lyndsay Beck and Summer Beck, and nine great grandchildren along with many loving nieces and nephews.

Dolph had a long career with Southern Pacific Railroad retiring after 45 years. With his position as a clerk for the railroad, he communicated with railroad cars, providing him with endless jokes and comical material. He took pride with his gift of ballroom dancing and owned and operated Continental Dance Studio. As the lead ballroom dance instructor, Dolph managed to work for the railroad by day and dance his way into the night. Dolph loved to sing, and sing he did. As a natural storyteller he had the ability to delight a crowd with his humorous material, song and dance. It’s no wonder he was everyone’s favorite uncle. He often fondly reminisced about his childhood growing up on a farm, especially remembering his mother, his crops and all the animals. He was known for his love of vegetables and his vegetable gardens. It was not unusual for him to eat an onion like an apple. He also was a scratch cook with his recipe collections torn from magazines or hand written on anything from 3 x 5 card to a cardboard box.

Words often heard to describe Dolph included charismatic, handsome, loveable, generous, talented, creative, gentle, nonconfrontational, hero, charming, sweet, kind, silly, funny, a character.

During his last two years, Dolph had been under the loving care of Lifestream Complete Senior Living Northeast. The daily and tender care provided to Dolph by his caregivers at Lifestream will never be forgotten. Dolph’s family would like to thank each and every one at Lifestream with special gratitude to his caregivers - Rene, Marisol, Jolene, Nate, Annie, Darlene, Rebecca and Chris for not only loving and caring for Dolph but becoming part of his family. Those at Hospice of the West were also wonderful to Dolph with their care, compassion and understanding of his love of music and dance. The family gives heart-filled thanks for their support during this difficult time as each of us shared in his journey of the long goodbye.

Dolph was preceded in death by his parents, six sisters; Theara King, Edna Hyatt, Helen Clark, Yvonne Woodfin, Arminta Jones, Christine Sleeker, and one brother; David Clark.

Services for Dolph Clark will be at Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery, 401 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85257 on May 31, 2019 beginning at 10 a.m. with a reception lunch to follow.

In lieu of flowers, tribute donations can be made to the following websites: Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org, Hospice of the West, hospicewestaz.com or Lifestream Complete Senior Living Northeast, lifestreamliving.com.