The Rev. O.D. Clark

After completing his formal education in his hometown, the Marshall County, Mississippi native answered God's call to be a messenger and dedicated over 60 years of his life to preaching the gospel. He ensured his ministerial preparedness by fulfilling the requirements for ordination at the Proverbs Baptist Church of Memphis in 1955, and later graduating from the Bluff City's Brewster Divinity School. Reverend Clark subsequently accepted pastoral calls from churches in Tennessee, Nebraska, and Mississippi. The St. Mark Baptist Church of Holly Springs, Mississippi was the final congregation he led prior to his pastoral retirement in 2003. In addition, the spiritual leader and once popular revivalist demonstrated his preference for putting his faith into action by partnering with other clergymen, law enforcement, local political leaders, and even some businesses, to overturn injustice, and improve living conditions for numerous people who had no voice in the community. Probably most widely known was his facilitation of private residential phone line installation for Marshall County families - among the last in the State of Mississippi to discontinue use of party phone lines. He never lost passion for sharing the same Good News he accepted himself as an adolescent; he remained a tireless advocate of the underserved until his demise.

Reverend Clark was a dedicated parishioner of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church of Red Banks, Mississippi, and he maintained close ties to his spiritual birth home, the Chulahoma Missionary Baptist Church of Chulahoma, Mississippi. He also maintained active memberships in the National Baptist Convention, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association, and the National Black Farmers Association. He was especially proud to have served on a team of ushers supporting the late former United States President George H. W. Bush.

Besides his parents, Jimmie Clark, Sr. and Willie Mae McKinney Clark, the former truck driver, veteran fresh produce vendor, and avid professional baseball fan was preceded in death by 5 brothers and 4 sisters.

Younger brother, S.T. Clark, is now the lone survivor of Reverend Clark's childhood household. A wide circle of additional relatives, former congregants, pastoral colleagues, ministerial mentees, and loyal friends are survivors who will long recall Reverend Clark's life and his accomplishments. He will be best remembered for his strong convictions, insightful scriptural interpretations, and seemingly unstoppable determination. May he find eternal restoration and peace at home with the Lord.

A public walk-thru visitation will be held from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Monday, July 19, 2021, at the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Red Banks, Mississippi. Facial coverings are required for attendance. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral services will be private. Facial masking will also be required for all family members and invited guests attending funeral services. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, 228 S. A. Phillips Drive, Red Banks, Mississippi 38661.