Richard Clarke

Richard John Clarke was born on December 29, 1947 to Winnifred Ormrod Barker at Peterborough, Ontario. Richard courageously fought cancer for over one year before God granted him peace and rest on June 21, 2014. During his illness, Richard continued to hope for a better quality of life, never lost his sense of humour, and was happy to hear what was happening in the lives of his relatives and friends.

When Richard's older brother was diagnosed with a serious illness, he went to live with his aunt Dorothy Ormrod Clarke and William Clarke at an early age, and was later adopted by them when his mother died from cancer. Although his youngest sister Margaret was 15 years older, they developed a strong bond.

Richard could be described as being a "renaissance man" - a man who is interested in and knows a lot about many things. He became an accomplished swimmer, water skier, sailor, and snow skier in his youth. Richard worked for a commercial security firm, a photography studio, and was a co-owner of an audio store in Peterborough. He moved to Vancouver in the early 70's where he worked as a photographer and as a TV technician. In the 80's, Richard set up a woodworking shop and became an expert cabinetmaker. He continued to design and build fine custom furniture, baths, and kitchens until he closed his shop in 2008. Richard especially enjoyed making new kitchens as he loved to cook, and took great care in designing them for both functionality and aesthetics. Richard then took a part time job with Home Depot, where his last position was in kitchen design.

Richard and I, Joan Baerg, have shared life's joys and sorrows together for almost 29 years.

We enjoyed sailing vacations, trips to Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta to visit relatives and friends, and many trips throughout BC. Our last trip was to Mexico in January 2013 to attend a niece's wedding. Richard enjoyed good food and conversation, and loved to cook for guests at our home.

Those left to cherish fond memories are his wife, Joan, sister, Margaret and John Burns, nephews Greg and Bill Galoska, niece Susan and Chris Murphy, and grand-niece Sydney Murphy. Also remaining are his brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends that were special to him.

Many thanks for the care he received at St. Paul's Hospital, especially the Palliative Care Unit, and from the home care staff of Vancouver Coastal Health.

A private Memorial Service for family and friends was held at the Canadian Memorial United Church on June 28, 2014.