John Clark

John Clark
Born June 11, 1922 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and died January 14, 2018 in Olathe, Kanas,

John was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph E. Clarkin and Katherine A. Clarkin. His first wife Jane Burden Clark, his daughter Anna Clark Brooks, and son Timothy E. Clark, and grandson Gabriel J. Clarkin. His is survived by his wife, Elinor Fink-Clark of the home, son Michael B. Clarkin (Kathy), son J. Patrick Clark (Michele) both of Nags Head, North Carolina and daughter Jane F. Green of Goldsboro, North Carolina, His grandchildren, Aaron (Diane), Jason, John-Todd (Lenah), Susan, Zachary (Jennie), Alex (Michael), Samantha (Daniel) Michael, Sean, and Jason along with many great and great-great grandchildren.

John had a very diverse live, working on farms, tinkering in junk yards, and all that encompasses the life of a young man raised in the 20-30's. In March of 1941 he and a buddy were bored and dared each other to enlist in the US Navy. The buddy was rejected but John they liked, so his new life began.

His Naval career took him around the world several times with many stops in far away lands. His stateside assignments were in Texas, California, Florida, and finally Kansas. It was during one of his stations in Corpus Christi that he happened to meet Jane Burden at a local watering hole and one short month later he married Jane. They spent the next 60+ years raising a family. Jane often doing the solo job while John served our country.

John's final assignment was with the Olathe Naval Airbase in 1958. He retired and entered the reserves in 1960 and was truly moved to the 'retired' list in 1971.

After leaving the Navy John's next employer was Sears Roebuck, where he worked as the repair/delivery man. This put him in contact with a large portion of the then small town of Olathe. He then tried his hand at running a Conoco Service Station then worked as a Maintenance Supervisor at a Lenexa firm. While working this "8-5" job, John started his own HVAC business, John's Heating and Refrigeration. Once again serving the people of the Olathe area.

After 1978 John to a position in MI, then WI, and then GA. Maybe the wandering bug the Navy had opened to him came back. In these moves he furthered his love for refrigeration, both residential and commercial and found his talent for teaching this industry. Through organizations such as RSES (Refrigeration Service Engineers Society) and ICRA (Independent Compressor Remanufacturing Association). His ability to teach and diagnosis issues became history marking John as the "go-to" sours for knowledge.

John continued to teach and put on his 'dog and pony show' for many more years keeping himself active and vital up to the very end.

John loved life, loved to teach, and never knew a stranger. He will be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched.