Thomas Clark

Thomas Donald Clark, age 90, of St. Paul Park, passed away peacefully on April 21, 2020 at the Minneapolis Veterans Home.

A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 am, April 22, 2022 at St. Thomas Aquinas, 920 Holley Ave., St. Paul Park with visitation one hour prior.  Military honors will be provided at the church cemetery following the service.  In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Minneapolis Veterans Home.  Instructions for watching the livestreamed services are found below.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Guy and Geraldine Clark; brothers, Robert and David Clark; Sister, Janet Scholze; sons, baby boy Clark and Rory Clark; daughter, Denise Bjerke; granddaughter, Cheryl Bjerke, and grandson, Rory Clark Jr; and son-in-law, Mike Matykiewicz.

He leaves behind his beloved and most cherished wife of 69 years, Theresa S. (O’Connor) Clark and is also survived by sons, Guy Clark, Kevin (Debbie) Clark, Brian (Ann) Clark, Kerry (Patti) Clark; daughters, Danette Matykiewicz and Dana (Mike) Klem; son-in-law, Steve Bjerke and daughter-in-law, Tina Clark. He will be greatly missed by all but especially by his grandchildren, Al Bjerke, Jay Clark, Melissa Clark, Theresa Jeffries, Jennifer Orsino, Brianna Clark, Mackenzie Morales-Clark, Amanda Jacobsen, Mike Matykiewicz, Karina Diem, Shannon Scott, Erin Wallace, Alyson Clark, Sean Clark, Ryan Brang, Tim Brang, and Megan Brang. He also leaves behind 32 beloved great-grandchildren. Never was there a man more gifted with babies – they were drawn to each other and his calm demeanor could put a baby to sleep in record time.

Tom was born in Eau Claire WI and later made his home in St. Paul, where he met and married Theresa and raised their family. Tom served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After landing in Pusan, Korea he was assigned to Paegu Sector, 9 ^th Infantry of 2 ^nd Division and at one point declared missing in action. He was wounded in combat, and honorably discharged. He was decorated with the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal Bronze Star, the United Nations Service Medal and the Combat Infantry Badge. He worked very hard to provide for his family and retired from the City of St. Paul, public works, sewer maintenance department, after 29 years.

He will be remembered for many things, his great love and unwavering concern for Theresa, even when his health was failing and he had to move to assisted living care, his top priority always remained his wife. Next to that was his ability to cause mischief, his unique way of stirring the pot, ribbing people, joking around, and making everyone smile. No one was immune from being a target of his playful sense of humor but those who could give it back to him were held in high regard and many bantering sessions were had.

The family wishes to thank the staff at the Minneapolis Veterans home for their loving care.

LIVESTREAM INFORMATION:  For those who would like to participate in Thomas' service via livestream, you can watch the service on Friday, April 22, 2022 at 10:30 am.  It can be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of this page, and "CLICK PLAY" to begin.  Please leave a message of support on our Tribute Wall to let the family know you were able to watch the service.  If you are having troubles with the Livestream, the service will be available to watch later in the day.