Richard L. Clark

Richard Lee Clark, 79, of Bettendorf, Iowa, died Friday, April 18, 2025 at the Clarissa Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf surrounded by his family after a brief illness.

Funeral services will be held at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Bettendorf, Iowa on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 10:00 am followed by a luncheon. Visitation will be at the church on Thursday, May 1, 2025, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. A private interment ceremony will be held at Glendale Cemetery in LeClaire, Iowa over the Father’s Day weekend in June. Most of the Clark family has been buried at Glendale for the past 150 years.

Richard ("Dick") was born on March 3, 1946, in Davenport, Iowa, the third child and second son of Henry and Arlene Meyer Clark. He grew up and worked on the family farm in rural LeClaire. Dick began his education at the Stone School, a one-room schoolhouse on the northeast corner of the farm. When he was only 6 years old, and before the advent of the Polio vaccine, Dick and his three siblings contracted the disease at the same time. Of the four children, he was the most physically impacted by Polio’s effects on the body. His recovery was difficult, but was also noteworthy in the community, as a reporter came and took photos of Dick and his younger brother James while they worked on math problems at the blackboard at school. In 1954, the siblings left Stone School to attend the newly built Cody Elementary through 8th grade. After graduating from Bettendorf High School, it was off to Iowa State University, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Lee Clark. Dick majored in Mathematics and Economics with the intention of becoming a math teacher before ultimately building his career in financial planning and tax preparation.

Dick met his future wife, Jacquelyn ("Jackie") Ann Donnelly, and was married in DeWitt, Iowa at St. Joseph Catholic Church on April 12, 1975 (they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the week of his passing). Dick’s friend David Musal, always the practical joker, arranged for a particular vehicle to take the bride, groom, and the wedding party to the reception: a festively adorned manure spreader- brand new from the local John Deere dealer!

Dick served the local community as an accountant/tax preparer for friends and family for over 40 years- tax time was the busiest time of year – and he completed his last tax return the morning of his downturn on April 11th. His clients will surely miss his patient demeanor and attention to detail.

Dick also used his analytical skills in teaching his children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren to think mathematically through games and math-related activities. He proved to be an excellent teacher with many of these young people achieving noteworthy professions because of his mentoring.

Dick loved to play cards and all sorts of games that required both skill, logic and luck. He was the kind of card player who counted cards, remembered what had been played and practically knew what was in your hand. He and Jackie belonged to a card club group of local folks connected to the farming community for nearly 40 years. One might attribute his love of card games to his Uncle Louie Clark, his grandmother, Lucile Clark, and his parents. Family gatherings always ended in games of “500” or Pinochle as a youngster and with euchre, bridge, Scrabble, 31, 7's, 65 cent game, royal rummy, kings corner, or cribbage in his older years. He loved to play all sorts of board games, too. Dick taught his younger sister to play chess, and when she beat him one once, he never played her again. He hated to lose.

Despite his physical limitations, Dick was involved in some way throughout his life in playing or participating in a variety of sports (ping pong, pool, miniature golf, basketball, and baseball where he would hit the ball and a classmate would run the bases, or playing with his siblings, children, and nephews in the barnyard or the large front yard at the farm), in coaching school-aged children, or in enthusiastically rooting for sports teams (especially as a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan). When the LeClaire girls’ 4-H baseball team needed a coach, he stepped up to help, and he coached his children's floor hockey, basketball, and soccer teams. Dick also could be found at the scorer's table as the statistician for the Pleasant Valley High School Boys Basketball team for nearly 20 years.

Dick passed his love of sports on to his children. Eldest son Eric was a standout collegiate pitcher. Middle son Michael ("Mike") excelled in collegiate football as an All-American punter and field goal kicker. Youngest son Alec became a referee for several different sports, and after entering the educational profession, became an athletic director and now a school administrator. Dick and Jackie attended their children’s games, often bringing along his parents, Henry and Arlene Clark and Jackie’s parents Cal and Marge Donnelly. Sports were family affairs!

The love of his life was his family- his wife Jackie, their children and grandchildren. Dick and Jackie spent countless hours taking care of their grandchildren, going to their activities, hosting family dinners, or creating fun learning opportunities at their home.

Dick was known by several different names and nicknames … Richard (his parents), Rick/Ricky (his siblings), Uncle Dick/Ricky (his nieces and nephews), Dick (his wife and close friends), Dad and Grandpa. He answered to them all and gave his time freely to others. Richard Lee Clark, named after his beloved grandfather, Lee Clark, was a rare individual. We will remember him and share his stories through generations here and into the future. No one is lost to us who is not forgotten. His was a life well lived.

Dick is survived by his wife Jackie, his sons and daughters-in-law Eric (Cherie) and granddaughters Cassidy, Candace and Carey of Huntertown, Indiana; Michael "Mike" (Rebecca) and grandchildren Ezra, Parker, Callum and Elthea of Davenport, Iowa; and Alec (Ashly) and grandchildren Brooklyn, Theodore and Matthew of Mediapolis, Iowa. He is also survived by his mother, Arlene Meyer Clark, LeClaire, Iowa, and siblings Eldon (Carol), LeClaire, Iowa; Beverly (Richard) Clark Floss, Baxter, Iowa; James, Chelsea, Michigan; and Joni (Ronald) Swanson, Northbrook, Illinois. He is further survived by his brother-in-law Robert “Bob” (Lynn) Donnelly, Clinton, Iowa, and sisters-in-law Margaret "Peggy" McAvan, DeWitt and Tracy (Mark) Fisher, Davenport, along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins from across the country.

He was preceded in death by his father, Henry Clark, his in-laws Cal and Marge Donnelly, and a brother-in-law, Dale McAvan.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Dick's honor to the Joan of Arc Catholic School Foundation – www.sjafdn.org Ph.# 563-343-2641.

Jackie, Eric, Mike, and Alec would like to extend their appreciation to Joni Swanson for putting together this thoughtful obituary.