Stephen Clark

Stephen David Clark was born on July 7th 1948. He passed away at the Spring Valley Living care center in Spring Valley on June 5th 2026 after a long battle with Dementia complicated by recent Pneumonia. 

Stephen's early education was unique in that he traveled with his "Army" family so he went to a number of schools including two years of school in Germany. Stephen graduated from high school in El Paso, TX in 1966 and enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after. Stephen served four years in the Marine Corps including two years of duty in combat in Vietnam. He earned numerous decorations during his service in Vietnam. He later served a number of years stateside in the Army Reserve and National Guard.

In 1969, Stephen married Barbara Sturgis while home on military leave. The couple eventually had two children; David and Bradly. As the kids grew, both Stephen and Barbara were very active in their kid's lives. They were involved in scouting, the local booster clubs, and in attending sporting events the kids were involved in.

Stephen was the kind of man who would talk to anyone, would help anyone, and just genuinely enjoyed being around people. He liked to cook (and eat), he enjoyed gardening, and working with tools. Stephen could fix almost anything and had an exceptional "mechanical" mind.

After his military service, Stephen worked a number of job types. He often worked his way into management because of his work ethic, or was flat out hired into managerial roles based on that same work ethic and his experience. He eventually settled in his final job where he decided to be of service to others once again as a correctional officer. Stephen was a Correctional Deputy for the Steele County Sheriff's Office for many years and finally retired from there in 2010. He was exceptional at his job and was one of the most widely respected officers in the county.

Stephen was always called the family's "rock" and "hero" by Barb and both the boys. Stephen's brother-in-law Carl Skime of Hayfield was always considered as a brother by Stephen more than a brother-in-law. Stephen was proceeded in death by his parents Justice and Mary Clark, and by his youngest son Bradly. He was also proceeded in death by his father-in-law Carl Sturgis, and his mother-in-law Ruby Sturgis. He is survived by his wife Barbara, his oldest son David, and by David's daughter Sarah.

Service information will be available soon.