Born on February 17,1946, Barry was the husband of Mary (Landers) Clark for 48 years, he was the son of Wilbur and Dorothy Clark. He is survived by daughters, Lisa O’Brien and her husband, Jim of Middletown, Megan Tyson and her husband, Michael, of Charlotte, NC, and son David Clark and wife Kendra of Pine Valley NJ. He is also survived by brothers Craig Clark and his wife Judy of Newport, and William Clark and his wife Kristen, of West Kingston. He has five grandchildren, Mackenzie, Ben, Kennedy, Timmy and Sam, and extended members of the Clark and Landers families.
A 1963 graduate of Middletown High, Barry graduated from NW Missouri State University where he participated on the football and wrestling teams. He received a Master Science Degree from URI. He served proudly in the reserve of the U.S. Marine Corps. Activated in 1991 for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he retired in 1995 with the rank of Lt. Col. During a teaching and coaching career that covered 32 years (all in Middletown), he retired as a Director K-12 Health and Physical Education, Middletown Public Schools.
His teams won numerous conference and state titles for Middletown in football, wrestling, track, and golf. He was selected to the RI Wrestling and MHS Athletic Halls of Fame, the RI Wrestling Coach of the Year and Coach of the Year in Commonwealth Coast Conference as golf coach at Salve Regina University.
Since retiring from teaching in 1997, he has been a broker associate for Berkshire Hathaway, formerly Prudential Prime Properties Middletown.
He was a member of Wanumetonomy Golf Club and served on several town of Middletown boards. He was past commandant of Newport’s Col. William R. “Rich” Higgins Det. Marine Corps League and was co-founder and Chairman of the Col. Stan Pratt, USMC, Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament for over 20 years.
His family will miss his smile, his spirit, and his undeniable strength even when faced with life’s biggest challenges.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, December 27 from 4:00-8:00pm at Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 28 with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30am in St. Lucy’s Church, 909 West Main Road, Middletown. Burial with military honors will follow at St. Columba Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Middletown Youth Wrestling, c/o Coach Bill Seiple, 27 White Terr. Middletown, RI 02842.
