Obituary: Clark, Gary Michael “9Er”
Age 64
He was born in St. Ignatius, Montana on June 21, 1949 to Wanda and Francis Decker.
Gary is survived by his wife, Katherine “Cricket” Clark, at their home; Robert (Rachel) Clark, San Diego, CA; Richard Clark, at the home; Jeff “Chachi” (Dani) Maahs, Spokane, WA; six grandchildren, Tyler, Ruby, Regan, Mojo, Emia and Tenlee; brothers, Ronald (Connie) Clark, Robert (Leslie) Decker, Tom (Carrie) Decker; sisters, Sharon Jones, Kathi Evaneski, Susie (Duane) Decker-Saunders; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Dailan; parents, Wanda (Edwin) Akers; Francis (Marilyn) Decker, and brother, Frank Decker.
Gary is a proud Veteran Elder of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Pablo, MT.
He later moved to Spokane, WA, and lived here since the early ‘50s.
He married the love of his life, Katherine Brewer-Jolstead on June 5, 1971.
Gary touched the lives of everyone he met, and was loved by everyone who knew him.
His circle of friends and “adopted” kids is never ending.
Gary was an avid baseball player for over 30 years.
He claimed the #9 from his softball jersey and became lovingly known as “9er”.
In his last five years playing, he was on the same team with his sons, and played the position as their pitcher.
He worked at ADM (Centennial Mills) for 42 years, recently retiring in 2012.
He was looking forward to his Golden Years and finally getting the opportunity to enjoy spending time with his family.
He planned on pursuing his passion - playing golf as much as possible with his loyal golf buddies, Ron, Chuck, Terry and Travis (and many, many more).
He loved competing with them for the famous traveling trophy cup, which he currently holds, now and forever.
Gary was a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving in the Vietnam War.
He was deployed on the USS Markab, touring the Philippines, Japan, Hilo, HI, and eventually stationed in Oakland, CA.
Gary and his brother, Ron, both recently shared the honor of being recognized on the Flathead Tribal Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Pablo, MT.
Gary was very proud of his Native American heritage.
Gary loved singing, especially the “oldies but goodies”.
He had the ability to capture the crowd with his awesome vocal talent and later recorded his own CD, Melody Memories.
He also loved collecting belt buckles, owning over 50 in his prize collection.
Gary was diagnosed with cancer in November, 2013.
He was currently undergoing treatment.
God has gained an Angel in Heaven, and we will all miss him dearly!
We also know that he’s already looking for his golf clubs!
Rest in Peace 9er!
A Memorial Service celebrating his life will take place on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 3:30pm at Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home, 1306 N. Pines Rd., Spokane Valley, WA.