John E Clarke age 73

John E Clarke of Clinton, Iowa passed away Sunday, April 9th 2023. Funeral services will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1825 16th St NW, Clinton) at 11am on Saturday, April 22nd, 2023. Visitation will be held in the hour prior to the funeral service at the same location. A private family burial was held at the Oakland Cemetery in Clinton. The Pape Funeral Home is assisting the family.
John was born on October 7th, 1949, in Hawthorne Nevada, to John P & Amy (Smith) Clarke. Growing up in Hawthorne, he graduated from Mineral County High School in 1967. Following graduation he attended a year of college at University of Nevada, Reno. He then served a 2 year mission in Argentina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Upon returning home, he attended Southern Utah State College in Cedar City, Utah, where he earned a BA degree in Spanish, and minored in business and police science. While attending SUSC, he met the love of his life, Terilyn Smith. They were married on June 8th, 1973 in the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon graduation, he was hired as a police officer in Tucson, Arizona, eventually becoming a detective. The first four of their children were born in Tucson. After 8 years, the family moved to Hawthorne, Nevada, where John began working at the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Base. While in Hawthorne, their youngest daughter was born. After 6 years, the family moved to Clinton, Iowa, where he and Teri have lived ever since. John worked for the Savannah Army Depot for 25 years before retiring in 2012.
He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all of his life, serving in many capacities. He served as a Scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America for over 20 years. He loved gardening and learned to grow his garden in the arid West and moisture abundant Iowa. He was an artist with skills in pen & ink and oil and water color painting. For many years he enjoyed model railroading.
John is survived by his wife Teri, 5 children, Ben (Theresa) Clarke of Clinton, Nathan Clarke of Virginia, Ryan Clarke of Illinois, Susannah Clarke of Virginia, Jandee (Nate) Millett of Washington state, his siblings Anna (Frank) Barcellos, Sam (Sherry) Clarke and Lenora Clarke. He was preceded in death by his parents, and older sister, Evelyn Clarke.