ATKINS, VIRGINIA: RICHARD KEITH CLARK, age 45, died Saturday, January 12, 2008.
He was a member of Valley View Baptist Church. He graduated from Marion Senior High School where he was a Band member and also a graduate of Police Science from Wytheville Community College. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force having served in Alaska with the military police, and was a police officer in Glade Spring, Chilhowie and Marion with total service of over 25 years. Keith was the D.A.R.E. officer in Marion. He was a registered Boy Scout having served as Camp Program Director for B. S. A. Blue Ridge Mountain Council where he founded several innovative and cultural programs that are in existence today.
He is survived by his wife, Julie Robinson Clark of Atkins, Virginia; two sons, Benjamin Clark and Samuel Clark both of Atkins, Virginia; his father and mother, Richard and Barbara Clark of Atkins, Virginia; one brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Pooneh Clark of Cary, North Carolina; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Johnny and Lois Robinson of Marion, Virginia; two brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws, Joe and Angie Robinson and George and Jill Robinson all of Marion, Virginia; three nieces, Megan Brooke Robinson, Kasey Jo Robinson, Katelyn Noel Robinson all of Marion, Virginia; two nephews, Alex Robinson and Hunter Robinson both of Marion, Virginia; two aunts, Dawn and Stuart Sigmon of Princeton, West Virginia, and Judy and Norman Goodman of Independence, Kentucky; two uncles William "Bill" Catron, and Fred and Charlotte Clark all of Atkins, Virginia; several cousins and many, many friends also survive.
Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at Cedar Bluff Baptist Church, 132 Churchland Drive, Atkins, Virginia with Rev. Roger Frost, Rev. Eddie Beck, and Rev. Grady Byrd officiating. Burial will follow in Rosewood Memorial Gardens in Rural Retreat, Virginia, where military rites will be conducted by Francis Marion VFW Post #4667. The family will receive friends Tuesday evening, January 15, 2007 at 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Seaver-Brown Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Marion D.A.R.E. Program c/o Marion Police Department, 305 South Park Street, Marion, Virginia 24354, Valley View Baptist Church Building Fund c/o Shirley Powers, 319 Flatwood Road, Marion, Virginia 24354, or Cub Scout Troop 492 c/o Charles Atkins, 506 Lark Drive, Atkins, Virginia 24311