Wilfong W. "Bill" Clarke Jr., 1927 – 2006

The Rev. Wilfong W. "Bill" Clarke Jr., died in Newport News on Jan. 8, 2006. A memorial service was held at Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church on Jan. 11. Bill is survived by his wife Alice; daughters Denise Hurd of Deltaville and Corina Clarke of Yorktown; and son Kemp Williams, of Newport News. He is also survived by five grandchildren.

Bill began his ministerial career in 1951 in the North Carolina Conference. There he served several appointments before and during his seminary studies at Duke Divinity School, including the idyllic island village of Ocracoke. He began his service to the Virginia Conference in 1962 at Heathsville. He went on to serve Warsaw, Urbanna, Lawrenceville, Epworth in Exmore, Courtland, St. James in the Alexandria District, Parkview in the Peninsula District, and Covenant in the Portsmouth District. He retired in 1989.

As the son of a professional educator, Bill entered the ministry with experiences and traits that would commend him as a pastor. He already knew the itinerant lifestyle, since his father had moved among school districts in North Carolina, living in homes provided for the school superintendent’s family. And his devotion to learning, his love for books, was instilled at an early age. Bill’s approach to life and ministry was largely cerebral; he loved God with his mind as well as with his practice of the Way. He loved the historic liturgies of the church. He set an example of faithfulness and patience and analytical thinking. He looked at popularly held tenets of civil religion with a critical eye, the way that good old liberal mainline Protestants are prone to do! As a pastor, Bill was able to share his love for books and theological discourse, and many persons enjoyed intellectual and spiritual growth as a result.

As an avocation, Bill loved to fish. To his delight, he often served rural appointments which allowed him to indulge that passion. He believed that those small rural churches could nurture spiritual giants, and he understood that servants of Christ are called to be faithful in little things.

After a debilitating illness of several years’ duration, Bill died 10 days before his 79th birthday. He has claimed the reward for his faith and his service: "For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 116:8-9). All who were blessed to have Bill as their pastor, or who had the pleasure of serving in ministry with Bill, give thanks for his life.

— Rev. Larry E. Adams