W. Clark Obituary

God called your name, embracing all your pain and carried you home. Ward passed away peacefully at Liberty Heights Manor after a long battle with progressive squamous cell carcinoma. Ward was a Colorado native, born in Canon City and raised in Pueblo. He attended Centennial High School in Pueblo, and the University of Colorado at Boulder to study Engineering, but became interested in photography and took a trip to California work with Metro Goldwin Meyer. Later, he attended the Chouinard School of Arts in California, and the University of California at Davis. As a multitalented individual, Ward did everything with class, precision, and fervor. He enjoyed fly fishing, photography, and painting scenic oil paintings. As a young man, he went to go to Washington, D.C. as a photographer. While there, Ward had the opportunity of photographing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Oval Office in 1936. Other places where he worked as a photographer included Hollywood, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; and New York, N.Y. He owned his own photography studio in Oklahoma City, OK before serving in the Army, Pacific Theater during WW II, which interrupted his photography interests. After being discharged from the Army he worked for his father in the Canon City power plant for a short time; he then moved to Wichita, KS, where he worked in the leather business. He served as the Roland-Speh Leather Company's president spanning over 30 years. During this duration, Ward continued his interest in landscape photography, traveling inland and abroad. Ward retired at the age of 75, and wrote a book called Skaguay: The Miracle of the Gold Camp Near Cripple Creek & Victor, published in 1989. He also started oil painting from the multitude of pictures he had photographed during his travels. In 2005, he donated 54 of his scenic paintings to the Archdiocese of Colorado Springs, which proudly displayed them in the Catholic Pastoral Center. Well into his 80's, Ward became interested in digital photography and produced stunning large color prints from the computer program Photo Shop. One of his panoramic pictures was displayed on the Outlook on Highway 24 going into Buena Vista. In addition to his talents and passions for photography and art, Ward was a 75-year member of Beta Theta Pi Brotherhood (Men of Principle/Leadership), 20-year member of Professional Photographers of America, and spent over 50 years in the Rotary International Club. Ward was preceded in death by his parents, Winfred Newcomb Clark and Mary ("Molly") Elizabeth Clark; his sisters Muriel Gittinger and Louise Ashby; nephew Robert Ashby; wives Marjorie ("Marge") Williamson Clark and Margaret Mason Hamilton Clark. He is survived by his nephew Norman Clark Gittinger (Millie), Niskayuna, NY; cousin Cecil Clark (Carla), Penrose, CO; stepchildren James Hamilton, Dubuque, IA and Sara ("Sally") Hamilton, Springfield, MO; 3 step-grandchildren and 4 step-great grandsons. Special mention is given to his surviving long-term dedicated friends: Robert ("Bob") McIntyre, Charles ("Chuck") Cummings, William ("Bill") Kettles, Helen Jensen, and special friend, Rose Hedgeman. Ward will be forever missed by his family and friends. Interment will be at the Clark family plot at Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo on Thursday, July 2, 2009.