CLARK, Merrill W.

Date of birth:  24 Jul 1918 – Bartholomew County, Indiana
Date of death: 5 Oct 1992 – Trafalgar, Johnson County, Indiana

Franklin Daily Journal, October 6, 1992

Former manager at Farm
Credit Services dies

The manager of the former Johnson County Production Credit Association in Franklin, now known as Farm Credit Services, has died at age 74.

Merrill W. Clark was manager of the former Johnson County Production Cre­dit in Franklin for more than 25 years, retiring Aug. 1, 1983. He had been a farmer in the Nineveh area all of his life.

“He always had a genuine concern for farmers,” said Tom Dougherty, who worked for Clark for five years at Farm Credit Services. “He took their lives personally so their concerns were his concerns.”

“In the 25 years that he was man­ager, he took care of first and second generation farmers,” Dougherty said. “He was in a position to help a lot of people.”

Clark was also helpful to other Johnson County residents. He helped to organize Nineveh Township Fire Dis­trict and served on the fire department for 23 years and was past president of the Fire Department trustees.

He also was the Johnson County Soil and Water Conservation District rep­resentative to the Johnson County Park Department. “Merrill had a tremendous amount of energy,” said Kim Wininger, Johnson County Park Department super­intendent. “He was dedicated to education. He worked hard to expand edu­cation in Johnson County schools. Tree planting and outdoor education were his creed.”

Through Merrill’s efforts, Johnson County fifth-graders received pine seedlings every year to plant in their own yards. Many thousands of trees were started because of Merrill Clark and the Johnson County SWCD’s efforts. He wanted to help people under­stand the importance of clean air and dirt,” Wininger said.

Clark died Monday at his residence in Trafalgar, where he lived most of his life.

He was born July 24, 1918, in Bar­tholomew County. His parents were Wilbur Clark and Cora (Coy) Clark. He married Doris L. Park Nov. 11, 1939, in Nineveh. She survives. Other survivors include two sons, Richard L. Clark of Nineveh and Robert D. Clark of Indian­apolis; a sister, Marjorie Mahoney of Bargersville; a brother, Maurice Clark of Trafalgar; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a sister, Beulah Dinn, on Aug. 8, 1987.

He also had been a member of Nineveh Christian Church, where he had served as an elder and taught an adult Sunday school class and was a former trustee. He was a member of Nineveh Masonic Lodge 317, associate supervisor of the Johnson County Soil and Water Conservation District, pres­ident of John­son County Extension Board and was a past director of Johnson County REMC for 18 years.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II.

The Rev. Larry D. Scott will conduct a service at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Nin­eveh Christian Church. Friends may call after 2 p.m. today at Vandivier-Tudor Funeral Home in Franklin and one hour prior to the service Wednesday at the church. Franklin American Legion Post 205 will conduct graveside rites at Nin­eveh Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Nineveh Christian Church Memorial fund, P.O. Box 32, Nineveh, Ind. 46164.

Submitted by Mark Wirey