Byron E. Clark, 75, Pharmacist, Longtime Fan Of The Cougars

Pharmacist Byron E. Clark got to do everything in life he wanted to do, except watch the Cougars play in the Rose Bowl, said his wife of 52 years, Frances Clark of Bellevue.

Although he was born in Pullman, home of Washington State University, he moved to Everett in 1927, four years before the Cougs played in their first Rose Bowl.

He planned to attend WSU, but his wife couldn't handle the heat on that side of the mountains, so he stayed in Seattle and went to the University of Washington.

He earned his bachelor of science degree at the UW in 1952 and held Husky season tickets nearly 30 years. But he remained a staunch Coug fan.

"If it couldn't be the Huskies to represent the Pac-10 (in the Rose Bowl), then he felt it should be the Cougs," said his wife.

Mr. Clark died of colon cancer last Thursday (Dec. 25). He was 75.

During his early childhood he learned to love the outdoors; his uncles were hunters and fishers. After moving to Everett with his family he continued to fish and hunt. He met his wife while ice skating.

After his military service in World War II, he came to know a pharmacist in Everett who had his own drugstore. He decided it would be a good way to make a living.

So Mr. Clark went to the UW, worked in a small building he leased on South Broadway in Everett, then had a pharmacy in Lake Stevens.

After another short stint in a corner of a store where the Everett Mall now stands, Mr. Clark moved to Bellevue. In 1975, he opened Clark's Pharmacy at 156th Avenue Northeast and Bel-Red Road. In 1987 he turned the business over to his son Mark Clark of Bellevue, also a pharmacist.

Mr. Clark enjoyed visiting with people and educating them about health, said his son. Mr. Clark was an advocate of alternative medicine.

"He was a really likable person and met a lot of friends through the pharmacy," said his wife. "He was one of the talkative ones. If you came in his store you'd never get out. You'd say, `Mr. Clark, I've got to go.' He'd follow you out of the store to the car and still be talking."

Outside work he got to do everything else he loved, said his wife.

"He owned Arabian horses, he got his pilot's license and flew land and float planes. And he loved boating. In the 1950s we had a summer home on the Kitsap Peninsula."

Other survivors include his children Ted Clark of Kent; Cheryl Langford, Bellevue; and Arlene Barnett, Colorado Springs, Colo.; sister, Shirley Reifenstahl, Mount Vernon; and five grandchildren.

Services have been held.

Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com