Published in the August 2, 2017 edition.
DANVERS — William “Bill” J. Clark Jr., 96, M.D., formerly of Lynnfield and Scituate, Massachusetts, died peacefully on July 22, 2017 at home in Danvers.
Bill was the son of the late William J. Sr. and Julia (Graham) Clark, and was the brother of the late Rev. Graham S. Clark. He was born in White Plains, New York on June 3, 1921 and was raised in Scarsdale, New York. Bill graduated with honors from St. Michael’s College, Vermont, Class of 1943 and the University of Vermont Medical School in 1947.
He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Japan as the lead dermatologist with the occupying Allied forces. Among notable patients was former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was being treated while awaiting trial for war crimes. After being discharged, Dr. Clark completed his residency Carney Hospital in Boston, where he met and married the love of his life, “Betty” Furrier. They eventually settled on the North Shore of Boston, where Dr. Clark established his internal medicine and cardiology practice, working for over 30 years at the Malden and Melrose-Wakefield Hospitals, making house calls and serving for a time as chief of staff.
Bill retired in 1985 to pursue his passion for golf, sailing, bridge and travel. He spent summers in Scituate and winters in Naples, Florida. He was a longtime member of Hatherly Golf and Satuit Boat Clubs of Scituate, where he was known for his dry wit and congenial personality. He particularly enjoyed puttering around the house with various renovation projects, a never-ending endeavor when living by the ocean. Never one to seek the spotlight, Bill would typically shy away from social functions. Bill once won a major golf tournament at Hatherly and when he couldn’t be located for the presentation ceremony, the award committee had to be dispatched to his home to bring him back.
Bill is survived by his wife Elizabeth A. (Furrier) Clark. He was the loving father of Sheila Iacopino and her husband Vito, William J. Clark III and his wife Anita, Stephen Clark and his wife Karin, Peter Clark, Eileen Kenney and her husband Jeff, Kate Clark, Maura Gomes and her husband Wilson, Elizabeth Paulding, and Julianne Regan and her husband Chris. He is also survived by his 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave. Wakefield on Wednesday, August 2 from 4-7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held Thursday, August 3, at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of Assumption Church, 40 Grove St., Lynnfield. Interment will take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Lynn.
In lieu of flowers, and in celebration of Bill’s life, donations may be made in his memory to North Shore Elder Services (https://nselder.org/) or All Care VNA Hospice and Homecare (https://www.allcare.org/). To sign the guestbook, please visit www.mcdonaldfs.com.
