Obituary of Ira Lawrence Clark

Ira Clark, 87, of Niles, passed away at Buchanan Meadows on Friday, July 16, 2010. Ira was born on March 29, 1923 to the late George and Nettie (Park) Clark in Owen, Wisconsin. After graduating from High School Ira joined the United States Army and served his country with the utmost pride and honor during WWII. He was a recipient of the bronze star, multiple purple hearts and a POW medal. Ira was the founder of the Blue Bird Trails rescuing the blue bird from extinction and one of the founders of the local Big Brothers chapter which is now Big Brother Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass. He was a board member of Cross Cultural Ministries and also enjoyed volunteering his time at the Fort St. Joseph Museum. He is preceded in death by his parents, son Colin Clark, grandson Anthony Jones, two brothers James and Earl Clark, two sisters Mildred Port and Fern Borst. Ira is survived by his loving wife of 63 years Barbara Clark, two daughters, Nancy Watts of Donna, Texas and Danna (Tom) Jones of South Bend, three grandchildren; Ken Jones, Jennifer (Conie) Lesmeister, Jennifer Watts, four great-grandchildren; Jared Lesmeister, Jesse Lesmeister, Jeremy Lesmeister, Adrian Thomas, a brother Lyle (Kay) Clark of Plainfield, Indiana, a sister Jessie Corwin of Niles, three special friends, Wayne Stiles, Bob Varney and John Erickson. Ira enjoyed fishing, hunting and riding the roads on his motorcycle. Funeral services to honor Ira's life will be held on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 2 p.m. at Mission Hills Memorial Chapel where friends and family will gather one hour prior for visitation. Pastor Tony Tomasino will be officiating the service.