Leon Dale Clark

Leon Dale Clark passed away on August 11th, 2022.
Leon was born Oct 1, 1927, on the farm of LD and Merle Clark in Lodgepole, SD.
Leon’s older sister (Carol) couldn’t say “brother”, so she called him Bud, which followed him through his life. At one year old Leon contracted spinal meningitis which affected his motor skills for the rest of his life.
In 1935 Bud’s family moved to Kalispell, MT. At that time he had two more sisters (Phyllis and Rita), and his last sister (Karen) in 1945. He was the thorn amongst the roses.
Bud graduated from Flathead High School in 1945, at which time he enlisted in the Army. He was honorably discharged in 1947 from Fort Monroe, VA. He was very proud to be one of the few WWII vets lefts in the valley.
Through his life he had many different jobs; lumber mills, logging, farmer/rancher, railroad, highway dept, delivery truck driver in L.A., and school bus owner & operator. He went to work in Glacier National Park in 1957 and retired as Trails Maintenance Foreman in 1990. After retirement he worked for Arctic Circle in Kalispell from 1993 to 2006.
He felt blessed for his years spent in Glacier Park and the back country, and the friends he made over the years. He was tough as nails, but it was said he could be as stubborn as some of the mules he rode in Glacier National Park. But he was respected by most every one who crossed paths with him.
In 1961 Bud married his sweety, Patricia Dragonfly, in San Diego, CA. They had three children, Lori, Lorne, and LaVonne.
Uncle Bud and Aunt Pat enjoyed years of family time. They spoke fondly of the time spent with their many nieces and nephews at the farm and in Glacier Park.
Bud was preceded in death by his loving wife, Pat, in December 2021. He was also preceded in death by his parents, LD and Merle Clark, infant son Larry David, sisters Carol Hodgson and Phyllis Claridge, and son-in-law Wayne Riddle.
He is survived by his sisters Karen (Bill) Obermayer and Rita (Herb) White; sister-in-law Margaret (Maurice) Burns; brother-in-law Paul Fossler; children LaVonne (Kevin) Basson, Lori (Charles) DeRosier, Lorne (Denise) Clark; grandchildren Jarrod (Cherylynn) Kinsey, Kristina (Wayne) Bieber, Michael Riddle, Logan Clark, James DeRosier, Jenna (Tanner) Dana, and Lauren Clark; and 7 great-grandchildren JoHanna, Cheyenne, Ayana, Acaydia, Kingston, Jaxon, and Braelynn.
Bud loved and cherished his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the time they got to spend together.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation or any other Parkinson disease research foundation, in honor of his late wife, Pat.
There will be a viewing for family and friends at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home on Friday, August 19, 2022, at 10 am – 12 pm. The funeral and burial service will be held at the Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home on Monday August 22, 2022, at 11 am, with burial services at Glacier Gardens to follow. A luncheon will follow at Lavonne and Kevin’s house to follow.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Leon Dale Clark, please visit our floral store.