Whitfield Harral Clark
Whitfield Harral Clark passed away on May 24, 2020, after a long and brave battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, which disguised itself as Parkinson’s Disease.
He was born in 1934 in Dallas, Texas, to a legendary legal family as the son of William H. and Martha Harral Clark. After his father passed away in a plane crash when he was just a young boy, his uncle, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Tom Clark, became a second father to him. While attending the University of Texas, Whit joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and proudly dined with family members at the Littlefield House on campus, which was later donated to the university. He went on to graduate from the University of Texas Law School and join the Air Force. After a few years in D.C. working in the Justice Department under Attorney General Robert Kennedy, he returned home to Dallas, where he joined the family law firm, Clark, West & Keller. Whit married Sue Brown on June 23, 1965. The two would become parents to two daughters and be blessed with seven grandchildren who affectionately called Whit “Pops”.
After Sue passed away from cancer in 2004, Whit found love again with Christina Molsen, whom he married on December 22, 2011. From this marriage, Whit welcomed into his family two new daughters, two sons-in-law, and two more grandchildren to call him “Pops.”
Whit was a man of few words, but when he did tell a story, he could capture a room with his life experiences and dry sense of humor. He was known for his intelligence, loyalty, and generosity. In his earlier years, he was a natural athlete who enjoyed golf, tennis, jogging, and in his later years, art and music. He famously re-fashioned his daughters’ landscaping through his own sweat and grit, loved spoiling his grandchildren, and eating ice cream or an Empire Baking Co apple tart at night. Whit had a lifelong passion for playing cards with friends and was a member of the Dallas Country Club and the Idlewild Club.
Whit was preceded in death by his parents, William Henry Clark Jr and Martha Clark, brothers George Littlefield Clark and William Henry Clark III, and his wife, Sue Shillard Brown Clark.
He is survived by his wife, Christina Molsen Clark, and by his children and grandchildren: Caroline and Rick O’Brien, Catherine Clark Walsh, Holland Walsh, Kaari and Jim Wicklund, Elizabeth Molsen-David and Adrian David, Cate O’Brien, Gretchen O’Brien, Meg O’Brien, Elly O’Brien, Benjamin Walsh, Libby Walsh, Callie Walsh, Tory Wicklund, and Henry Wicklund.
The family would like to extend special gratitude to all those who helped Whit towards the end of his life. Thank you to Angela Thomas, whose expertise helped us navigate the unimaginable, to the doctors and nurses at U.T. Southwestern (Dr. Padraig O’Suilleabhain) and Richardson Methodist (Dr. Zaid, Dr. Phan), to Morgan Gillis at Faith Presbyterian Hospice, to the staff of the T. Boone Pickens Center, and to all of the nurses, doctors, and caregivers (including Paul and Chello). Whit will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, Peter ODonnell Brain Institute, Development Office, P.O. Box 910888, Dallas, TX 75391-0888, online via https://engage.utsouthwestern.edu, or to the charity of your choice.
