Dean Clark

Celebration of life for Dean C. Clark is May 19th, 2018 at 1 pm till evening at the Kellogg Senior Center 211 McKinley Ave.  At age 83, Dean C. Clark passed away Jan. 16, 2018 at North Idaho hospice in Coeur d’Alene after suffering a stroke on Jan. 11, 2018.  He was surrounded by loved ones and visited by many loved ones the days prior to his peaceful passing.  He was born Sept. 28, 1934 in Juliaetta, Idaho, to Wilfred Claude and Mildred Lois (Cochran) Clark, the only son of four children.
He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Terrie Clark of Pinhurst Idaho and her children Daniel Schultz of the Silver Valley, Jennifer Leetch of Spokane, Serenity (Eric) Petersen of Maricopa Arizona. Grandchildren include Brittany, Deven and Brenden Petersen, Leo Schultz and Mason Henry.
He is also survived by his two children of a previous marriage, Jennie Clark of Portland, OR and Jon Clark of Hillsboro, OR.
He is survived by his sisters Carol (Dick) Mondich-Long of Corvallis, OR and Joanne Fosness of Spirit Lake, ID.  He is survived by nieces and nephews Nicki Rohrer and Clark Mondich, Brad and Donnie Larson, Leanne Fosness.  Dean was preceded in death by his daughter Carrie Joleen Clark, his parents, his sister Claudene and Brother-in-law Swede Larson, his brother-in-law Pete Mondich, nephew Roy Fosness and Father and Mother-in-law Harry and Mary Winkler.
Mr. Clark worked at wheat farming as a young boy.  His family owned and operated a large wheat farm on Upper Fix Ridge between Juliaetta and Moscow Idaho.  The family moved to Sullivan Lake in 1948 when he was 14.
A Metalline Fall High School graduate, he went on to serve in the U.S. Army as an artillaryman in the late 1950’s.  He worked at Diamond Match Lumber Company at Sullivan Lake and was the owner of two service stations, Dean’s Chevron in Metaline Falls, WA and Dean’s Signal in Colville, WA.  As an adult, he spent 40 years as an underground miner, his first mining job was at the Grandview Mine just north of Metaline Falls, he also mined at the Pend Oreille Mine, Bunker Hills, Sunshine and Day Rock Mine in north Idaho, as well as working as a mining supervisor at mines in Colorado and Wyoming.  What he loved most about mining was walking into a newly opened area he knew no one had previously walked in and seeing rock and ore no one had ever touched or seen.  He defied death many times.  While mining in the Climax mine near Leadville Colorado in the mid 70’s, he hauled out two of his partners dead within one week.
After retirement he worked in Wallace, Idaho, for Sierra Silver Mine Tours driving the trolley and giving mining tours.  He also volunteered at the Silverton Nursing Home playing music.
He was a talented entertainer and musician, playing the guitar, banjo, violin, ukulele, piano and singing all music – country and western.  His sense of humor, making someone’s day or laughing about a person’s gullible reaction to a joke, will be missed.  He had a sense of responsibility and made sure his children were taken care of financially, giving Jennie and Jon their first cars, purchasing Daniel a trailer and Jennifer road construction gear for her new job.  Dean also loved being a local handyman for family and friends.
He also enjoyed gardening and farming and could build a house from the ground up and rebuild an engine to a car.  His favorite flower was the columbine.  Dean loved to study the bible every day and was particularly loved prophecy.
On January 26, 2018, Dean was buried wearing his red boots with his bible in his arm at the Metaline Cemetery in Washington next to his predeceased daughter Carrie Jolene.  A eulogy given by his nephew Brad Larson.
To sign his online guest book, go to www.shoshonefuneralservice.com