Bethany, MO: William Max “Billy Max” Clark, 80, Bethany, MO passed away Thursday, December 7, 2023, at his home.
He was born on January 1, 1943, in Harrison County, Missouri the son of Charles “Max” and Carol “Ferne” (Ward) Clark.
In 1961 Bill graduated from Bethany High School. On September 15, 1963, he married his true love, Dianne Sue Martz “Susie”. She preceded him in death on August 13, 2013.
Bill worked for a few contractors in the area. In 1971, Bill and his brother, Jerry, started their own construction business building houses up until he retired in 2012. Tim Smith joined the Clark Brothers Construction and during their coffee breaks, you could always hear laughter. Bill always had a smile on his face and loved to visit. Bill had a very quick wit about himself even to the very end. When he wasn’t working, he loved to go fishing and hunting which includes deer, bird, racoon, coyote and small game. Gardening was a great passion for him, he loved to feed his kids and neighbors. The most important thing to him was his kids and grandkids and to always have a treat in the goody box or whipping up his world-famous peanut butter and syrup mixture which every kid loved. If you stopped by the house, Bill would always have the tv on, watching girls’ softball, the Kentucky Derby, football or a good rodeo. After his wife passed, Bill learned how to cook. Bill would always have a pot of soup on or an apple cake on the counter. No one left hungry at Poppy’s house. Bill was very talented with woodworking. He liked to surprise you with something he made from scrap material, like a bird house, small jewelry box, step stools or help someone fix a cabinet door that was going to be thrown away. When his kids were little and it snowed, Bill had a little saying he would sing “Now the ground is white, what are going to do tonight!” That little saying stuck over the years and became a game with his adult kids to call him first with that saying. This year, while he was in the hospital, he called them and told them “Now the ground is white!”
He will be missed by all that knew him. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents.
Bill is survived by his daughters, Elshana (Randy) Mann, Bethany, MO, and Latrenda (Mark) Snider, Pattonsburg, MO; son, Bill (Christy) Clark, New Hampton, MO; brothers, Bobby Jim (Linda) Clark, Independence, MO, Jerry Dean (Neita) Clark, New Hampton, MO, and Jesse Gale (Jackie) Clark, McFall, MO; grandchildren, Shiloh, Shyann, Ethan, Destin, Shelby, Bailey, and Gabby and great grandchildren, Conner, Jayci, Kloe, and R.J; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, December 11 at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in Miriam Cemetery, Bethany, MO. The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Miriam Cemetery and/or Harrison County Hospice in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com