William P Clark

William P. “Bill” Clark, 71, of Yakima died Friday at Memorial Hospital after a much unexpected, and unfortunately short, battle with liver cancer. Mr. Clark was born on January 26, 1940 in Winnebago, MN to Paul and Lona Clark. He graduated from Winnebago High School in 1958, and served in the U.S. Army for four years. While living in Minnesota he was employed with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Department.

Mr. Clark moved to Yakima in 1968, and shortly thereafter became a Police Officer with the Yakima Police Department, retiring in 1990 after 22 years of service. He spent much of his tenure at YPD doing accident reconstruction, having attended the Traffic Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Accident reconstruction was his passion, and he continued to do reconstruction and testify as an expert witness in Court well after his retirement from YPD. He later worked at Costco as a Gas Station Supervisor until his formal retirement in 2006.

In his spare time Mr. Clark most enjoyed going camping with his family in the Cascade Mountains of WA, and watching his wife train their dogs and going to dog shows. Last October, they adopted “Goose,” a senior boxer from Rescue; Goose was constantly by his side. He also enjoyed having “morning coffee chats” with friends and going to Legends Casino.

Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Linda, and their son Scott Clark of Spokane; two daughters, Kim Clark of MN, Karen Villarreal of TX; a son, Kent Clark of MN, and 7 grandchildren. He will also be missed by his beloved dogs, Goose, Ziva and Raven.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Washington Boxer Rescue or Yakima Valley Memorial Hospice c/o Keith & Keith Funeral Home, 902 W Yakima Ave, Yakima, WA 98902. A special thanks to the hospice workers for their support.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 27, 2012 at Keith & Keith Terrace Heights Chapel with a reception immediately following the service. To share a memory, visit www.keithandkeith.com.