With sadness for the loss and gratitude for the life, we announce the sudden passing of Clark Fred Wilkie in Victoria, British Columbia. Clark was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 1, 1938 to Irma and Rudolph Wilkie. In early childhood, he was raised by his mother in Ridgeville Corners, Ohio and after her passing in 1947, cared for by his stepfather William Rosebrock. Clark attended high school and college in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 1964. It was his good fortune to marry his beloved Margaret Fischer on June 23, 1963 and afterwards, they built a beautiful life together. Upon graduation, Clark was called to serve as Pastor for parishes in Atikokan and Thunder Bay, Ontario. He obtained a degree in Social Work and served as a social worker for the Ontario Community of Social Services, then as an instructor at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. Subsequently, Clark took an administrative position in the Social Service department at the College where he finished his career. After several years of retirement, he and Margaret relocated to Victoria, BC in 2012.
Clark’s faith and his church were very important to him. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing, hunting, and boating. His other passions included curling, baseball, playing his guitar, and advocating for Indigenous relations and reconciliation. Clark and Margaret enjoyed travelling and trekked across Canada several times in their life together. Wherever he went, Clark told a good story.
Clark is predeceased by his daughter, Maria, in 2017. He is survived by his wife of over 56 years, Margaret, sons Timothy and Matthew (Meesh), son-in-law Kevin Couture and grandchildren, Samantha (Austin) Hager and James Wilkie.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful caregivers in Emergency and ICU at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
We feel blessed for having had Clark in our lives.
A Christian Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, January 7 at 1:30 p.m. to be held at Lutheran Church of the Cross. A celebration of Clark’s life will be planned in the Spring. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallgardens.com.
11 Responses
I was watching a music video and I was remembering Clark Wilkie who taught me at Confederation college and worked really close with me in the beginning. He was hard on me but in the end he ended up being one of the professors that worked with me the most. I am still using the skills that he taught me and he has influenced me to the degree that I remember him with gratitude and laughter as he mixed his faith and his sense of humor with such Grace and skill. He was able to also give me a tongue lashing what I needed the most as I was one of the first people with a physical disability;cerebral palsy. He also was able to be humble and say when he didn’t understand something. I was last in Thunder Bay for my 50th birthday in 2019 it was an honor to have known him and I feel the need to put something in his memorial even though it is rather late. My Google assistant had misled me and I had thought she had emailed something to the alumni at Confederation college when she doesn’t have that capability so I am skipping electronics and going directly to the best place possible to leave a memorial other than the fact I will be saying my prayers tonight in a different manner I hope this is as respectful as I intended to be.