Merle Clark

Floyd Merle Clark was born August 26, 1918 to Ralph Elbert Clark and Frances May Winslow on their rural Harris, Iowa farm home. He attended Excelsior Consolidated School where he graduated in 1936. Upon graduation, Merle farmed and drive a school bus. In 1939, he attended Northwestern Junior College in Orange City, Iowa, graduating in 1941. Merle entered the US Army Air Corps. on June 26, 1941. While still in basic training in Spokane, Washington, he found out about the Pearl Harbour attack as he was walking out of church from a paper boy. This changed his course as he was shipped to Yakima, Washington and eventually to Officer Candidate School at Miami Beach, Florida. While he was in OCS, he was in the same training group as the then famous movie star, Clark Gable who either marched on Merle's heels or he on Gable's. He received his commission to 2nd Lt. on December 9, 1942. After receiving training in air traffic control, Merle was sent as an Air Traffic Officer to bases in India and China, directing pilots across the Himalayan Mountains. Merle returned stateside in November, 1944. He married his Yakima, Washington sweetheart, Katherine Louise Millard on May 13, 1945 in Niles, Michigan. The couple made their home in Yakima where they raised their three children, Richard Merle, Margaret Louise (Peggy) and Carol Joanne Clark. Unfortunately, Katherine passed away on December 4, 1959. Merle continued raising his family in Yakima, where he worked for The National Bank of Commerce. He married Gertrude Van Otterloo, a former classmate at Northwestern College on March 1, 1991. She had four children, Gary, Marlow, Curtis and Judy. Through the years he travelled considerably namely to Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; Vienna, Austria, where he was able to see the Austrian Boys Choir, Munich and Hamburg, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; London, England; Zurich, Switzerland; Vancouver, Canada; Greenland; and Cardiff, Wales. Merle passed away in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 8, 2008 at ninety years of age, his daughters at his side. He is survived by his son, Dick and his wife, Judy; daughters, Margaret (Peggy) Fiderio and her husband, Mike and Carol Clark; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Alton, Eldon and Elbert; sisters, Alta Mae Singer, Helen Hurst and Ada Fern Johnson; four infant siblings; Merle's wives, Katherine Millard Clark and Gertrude Van Otterloo Clark.