Ralph Vern Clarke, Jr.

Ralph Vern Clarke, Jr., age 83, of Bryan, Ohio, died at 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, in Evergreen Manor Nursing Home, Montpelier, Ohio, where he was a patient. Mr. Clarke was a 1944 graduate of North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He retired in 1993 from his position as Director of Quality Assurance at Ohio Art Company, Bryan, where he worked for 26 ½ years. He was also employed as a Bryan police officer for 8 ½ years. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mr. Clarke served during both World War II and the Korean Conflict. Mr. Clarke was active in the Bryan community as a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #2233, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2489 (Life Member), Order of the Eastern Star, Rotary Club, of which he was two-time Paul Harris Fellow, the American Society of Quality Control, of which he was a past president, and as a victim assistance advocate at Sarah’s House. He was also a member of Bryan Moose Lodge #1064, of which he attained the Fellowship Degree, and he twice served as District Governor. His memberships also included Bryan Lodge #215 F & AM, Scottish Rite - Valley of Toledo, Zenobia Shrine, Northwest Shrine Club, of which he was a past secretary, Northwest High 12 Club, of which he was a past president, and Zenobia Mystics. His professional memberships included being a past member of the Toy Manufacturers Safety Standards Committee, past president of the Bryan Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Williams County American Red Cross Disaster Services, Board of Directors of the American Red Cross in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Chairman of the Bryan City Planning and Zoning Commission. With the Red Cross he spent ix weeks working at Ground Zero after 9/11. Ralph Vern Clarke, Jr. was born on June 3, 1926, in Marion, Indiana, the son of Gladys D. (Bowman) and Ralph Vern Clarke, Sr. He married Lois P. Rubel on July 23, 1960, in Toledo, Ohio, and she preceded him in death on March 12, 2009. Surviving are one daughter, Cynthia K. (Lynn) Baker, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, two sons, William F. (Tina) Clarke, of Woodstock, Georgia, and Nick (Chris) Clarke, also of Fort Wayne, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; one brother, Donald (Linda) Clarke, in Wisconsin; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Friday, April 2, 2010, from 4-8 P.M. in the Krill Funeral Home, 860 West Mulberry Street, Bryan, with a Masonic service to be conducted at 8:00 P.M. Services will be held on Saturday, April 3, 2010, at 10:00 A.M. in the funeral home with Pastor Barry Sweet officiating. Interment will follow in Fountain Grove Cemetery, Bryan, with grave side military rites conducted by V.F.W. Post #2489. Memorials may be given to the Williams County Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Bryan First Presbyterian Church, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.