The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA., February 4, 1997, page 1
Includes portrait

NEWSPAPER'S FORMER AD DIRECTOR, DENNIS CLARKE, DEAD AT 61
By Tommi R. Gatlin
Daily World writer

     Former Daily World advertising director Dennis Clarke of Ocean Shores died early this morning at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen after an extended illness. He was 61.
     A longtime Harbor resident, Clarke was a past president of the Hoquiam Rotary Club and a strong believer in "service above self," Rotary's motto. He had served as the Rotary governor's representative for District 5020.
     Clarke came to The Daily World as an ad salesman in 1985 and served as advertising director from 1987 to 1992.
     Theresa Wincewicz, the current advertising director, worked as a sales representative on Clarke's staff for five years.
     "He had a heart of gold," Wincewicz said this morning after learning of the death of her former boss.
     "He would do anything for you," she said. "He genuinely cared about the newspaper, the people who worked there, as well as the customers and the community."
     Daily World Editor John Hughes said that in his 31 years at the newspaper, Clarke was one of the best people he has ever worked -- "a thorough professional who quickly won the respect of the news department." A past president of the Aberdeen Rotary Club, Hughes said Clarke "was also a deeply committed Rotarian."
     Clarke retired from The Daily World in the summer of 1992 because of health problems from a heart condition, saying he wanted time to enjoy life and get things in perspective.
     He is survived by his wife, Judy, of the family home in Ocean Shores.
     A full obituary will appear later in The Daily World.
     Arrangements are by the Coleman Mortuary of Hoquiam.

The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA., February 5, 1997, page 2

F. DENNIS CLARKE

     A funeral for former Daily World advertising director Floyd Dennis Clarke, 61, of Ocean Shores, is set for 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in the Coleman Mortuary Chapel at Hoquiam.
     A longtime Harborite, Clarke died after a long illness Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1997, in Grays Harbor Community Hospital at Aberdeen.
     He was born July 1, 1935, at Benkelman, Neb., to Floyd V. and Ida (Denning) Clarke.
     The family moved to Sunnyside in 1939, where Clarke attended elementary and junior high school. They moved then to Coquille, Ore., and he graduated from high school there in 1953.
     Clarke married Patricia G. Cotter in April of 1954 at Stevenson, Ore. They were divorced in 1979.
     He worked as a carpenter in the Portland, Ore., Seattle, Kennewick areas and other parts of the Pacific Northwest for five years. He then became employed in retail sales at various Montgomery Ward stores for 17 years.
     On Sept. 22, 1979 he married Judy A. Mitchell in Longview. She survives at the family home in Ocean Shores. The couple lived in Longview, Salem, Portland and Morton before moving to Ocean Shores in 1985.
     Clarke worked for the Longview Daily News for about two years and as advertising manager for the Morton Journal for a year.
     He went to work for The Daily World as an ad salesman in 1985 and served as advertising director from 1987 to 1992. he retired from the newspaper in 1992 because of health problems from a heart condition.
     Clarke also had been a member of the Hoquiam Rotary Club and was president of the group for 1991-92. He served as a representative for the Rotary Governor of district No. 5020 from 1993-96.
     His family says that, with the aid of his trusty computer, he composed, edited and published the Rotary Club newsletter for a number of years and helped to rewrite the club's by-laws. He also assisted with the club-sponsored Ethnic Festival and was and adviser for the district on events in the area.
     He enjoyed serving the club in various capacities, his family says, even though it required much travel and countless club visits and meetings.
     Clarke was proud to be a Rotarian for many years and of his perfect attendance record. But he was more proud of the work of Rotary, described by its motto, "Service Above Self."
     He enjoyed just being with people and trying to make the world a better place to live.
     He liked living at the beach and was always interested in the young people of the area. He was supportive of community scholarships for youth and liked going to their track meets and other sports events.
     He was a supporter of the North Beach Boosters and had served as president of the group, which honored him recently at one of his meetings.
     As a younger man, Clarke played golf, and he still enjoyed watching it and other sports on television. He was also an avid TV spectator of the Olympic Games, from the opening ceremonies until the closing events.
     He enjoyed watching movies from the 1940s and '50s and could recall almost all of the their names. He liked music, including classical and opera.
     Besides his wife, survivors include two sons, Dennis of longview and Tracy of Eugene; a daughter, Debra Bennett of Campbell, Calif.; a stepson, Gregory Mitchell of Salem, Ore.; a stepdaughter, Christine Mitchell of Vancouver, Wash.; his mother, Iva Combs of Medford, Ore.; his stepmother, Evangeline Clark of Beaverton, Ore.; a brother, Donald of Sante Fe,, N.M.; three half-brothers, Darrell Clark of Battleground, Randall Clark of Victoria, Texas, and David Combs of Medford, and two grandchildren.
     Private interment will be in the Balch Cemetery at Lyle.
     The family requests donations in his memory to the Scholarship Fund, care of the North Beach Booster Club, P.O. Box 1785, Ocean Shore, 98569.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer