William Walton Clarke

1943-2019

Walton Clarke, 76, passed peacefully at home—with his daughters Katie and Mary Mac by his side—in the early morning hours of Thursday October 24 to join his best friend and love in life, Sarah Yuille Clarke, who died August 30.

Walton, a longtime banker and stock broker, was a native Atlantan and a charming Southern gentleman with a quick wit and a wry smile. He was a loyal lifelong friend to his buddies from grade school through college, business, and beyond.

Growing up in the “Eagles Nest” on Tuxedo Road, the friends and cousins he grew up with were enough to field a baseball team in one of their yards (where the boys had to run uphill to second base and downhill to home). The crew even built a makeshift three-hole golf course where Walton first began to develop his love for the game of golf.

Wally, as his childhood friends affectionately referred to him, attended Christ the King School and Marist Academy and graduated from St. Stanislaus, a Catholic school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Always an exceptional golfer, long off the tee, Walton, at age 17, finished as runner up in the Atlanta Amateur Championship in 1960. Walton graduated from the University of Georgia where he was a Varsity Letterman on the golf team and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

From the young backyard “Buddy Fowlkes Group,” to his fellow SAEs at the University of Georgia to the Wednesday lunch-and-golf group at Peachtree Golf Club, his circle of friends supported each other through the decades of ups and downs life has to offer. Walton was known to be a likeable, easy-going and friendly guy who never had a negative word to say about anyone. He was a big guy with a big heart, even adopting a pen pal, Sanjay, in Africa who he supported through the years.

Sarah and Walton were set up on a blind date by lifelong friends Gene and Champ Covington, and, after a brief courtship, they married in November of 1970 in the University of Virginia Chapel. They adored each other, had a mutual deep respect and genuinely enjoyed spending time together. They were best friends who were a fixture on the Atlanta social scene, loved a good party and knew how to cut a rug on the dance floor. They were devoted parents to their two girls, Katie and Mary Mac, and adored by their young friends. They annually vacationed with other close families in the early years at Sea Island and later at Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. This tradition continued as Katie and Mary Mac had families of their own.

Walton loved old Westerns when there wasn’t a golf tournament, Braves game or UGA football to watch. As a young man, he loved music and was known to visit the Royal Peacock on Auburn Avenue where he developed a lifelong passion for R&B. In fact, it didn’t take too much urging for him to don his sunglasses and sing at weddings, usually “Big Boss Man” by Jimmy Reed. He could often be found on the golf course at Peachtree, and he loved a good steam. For all occasions, he was a dapper dresser and never owned a pair of jeans.

In 2012, Walton was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment and in 2014, he and Sarah chaired “A Family Affair,” which raises funds for research at the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Though he was in declining health and his memory was failing, Walton never lost his sly sense of humor and made some notable quips right up to the end to his family and dear friends who regularly visited him.

He was a member of the Piedmont Driving Club, the Round Table, Nine O’Clocks, Peachtree Golf Club and the Buckhead Lions Club. He was also a lifelong member of the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Walton is survived by his daughters Katie Clarke Martin (Michael "Skip"), and Mary Mac Clarke Southerland (JJ). Waffles, as he was known, will be missed by his three grandsons: Charley Martin, 15; Banks Southerland, 9; and Mac Southerland, 5, all of Atlanta. His sister, Laura Courter of Atlanta; and his brothers, Ted Clarke of Savannah and Logan Clarke of Alvin, Texas survive him as do many loving cousins, nieces and nephews. Walton was predeceased by his brother, Tom, and sister, Mary.

There will be a memorial service at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 11, 2019 at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road NE, 30305. The family suggests donations to the Emory Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, 12 Executive Park Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.