A Man Ahead of His Time
By Jack Bailey
Richard “Dick” Stewart Clark Sr.
July 6, 1934 - March 25, 2005
Dick Clark and Jeremiah Hodge. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
It was a chilly night in the Mountains of Wyoming when one of my closest friends and fellow ROTC cadets, Jeremiah Hodges, began to explain to me the importance of planting seeds. I had never thought about “planting seeds” and didn’t quite understand why it was so instrumental in my friend’s life. The idea began to strike me when he reflected on a small event that changed his life. His cousin who worked for Nike asked him his shoe size and proceeded to send him the nicest pair of Nike football cleats on the market. This inspired Jeremiah in ways that his cousin would never know. He knew that he could reach his goals in both athletics and other facets of life because of a small investment—the planting of a seed—that his cousin made in him.
Another seed of Jeremiah’s can be found in the story of Richard “Dick” Clark, Jeremiah's grandfather. Dick Clark was fond of saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”[1] He left many fishermen on this planet when he died on March 25, 2005.[2]
Richard “Dick” Clark’s U.S. Army Portrait. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
Dick was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on July 6, 1934 to Grace Stewart and Edwin A. Clark Senior. He was the youngest of two siblings. Dick’s athletic abilities led him to Springfield International College on scholarships for both track and basketball. He began to exercise his passion for leadership as the Freshman and Sophomore class president at Springfield. Carrying on his pursuit of knowledge, Dick attended the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley he researched tuberculosis. In California he also met the famous dancer and social activist, Katherine Dunham, and participated in her performances as a bongo player.[3] Eventually Dick felt a call to serve in the military and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He enlisted on June 18, 1957 and remained two years, exiting on May 28,1959 as a private first class.[4] Dick joined the military during a tremendous time of desegregation in the United States. The military had already begun moving toward desegregation nine years earlier with the abolition of segregation in the Armed Forces. This executive order was published by President Harry Truman in 1948, stating: “There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” The Army did not finish integrating white and black units until 1952. Executive power was used again by President Dwight Eisenhower when troops from the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 327th Infantry Regiment were sent to escort nine black students into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. These soldiers demonstrated a professional composure for the national spotlight and set a tone for how the military dealt with segregation.
Dick left the Army after two years of service. Dick did not speak about his military career; therefore, it is largely unknown. From the testimonies of those who knew him later in life, it is hard to believe that he did not have an impact on his fellow soldiers. In 1959, he met and married Emma Lee Lyday. They resided in Riverside, California and had two children, Richard Jr. and Kylle.[5] They moved to Denver, Colorado in 1963 because they wanted a location with four seasons. In Denver, they had their last child, Byron.[6]
Dick’s expertise in leadership led to his employment as the first African American Vice President at Blue Cross Blue Shield. It was not long before Dick left the corporate world never to go back. As he put it, he would “Never fit into corporate America again.”[7] He desired to make a difference in the world through entrepreneurship.
Dick Clark performing in show business. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
Dick was always brainstorming for the next big idea. This physically manifested around him in piles of papers, folders, notebooks, and business cards. He could be found “everywhere all the time.” His appointment book was packed full and he often arrived late but with the social skills to smooth over any offenses taken. Dick’s friend and former mentee, Estela Williams, describes his social web this way, “He had resources.” Dick knew many influential names in Denver. He owned a strip mall in the Park Hill neighborhood with a bowling alley and other shops. He even went into the health industry as founder of Medical Cost Containment, Inc. Another creation of Dick’s was Compassion on Wheels, better known as COW. Dick could be found driving a school bus painted like a COW filled with goods to the poor. He was involved in radio shows, Broadway events, and the Denver Rockies baseball team.[8] Dick was also an avid tennis player. He was one of the only black umpires in the 1978 United Bank Tennis Classic in Denver. Dick was recognized for his humor in the umpire chair when he comically asked someone in the audience, “Will you please remove the baby?”[9] One day, Dick’s daughter Kylle playfully asked him, “When are you going to stick with one thing?” Soon after, he directed his energy toward ASKnet, a resource where wealthy people could list their excess items and give to those in need. The non-profit was inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Estela Williams was a graduate student at the University of Denver when she became involved in ASKnet. “Things that you see now are things that he already envisioned,” she says. Dick would often say that he wanted kiosks with touch screens at every other street block, where anyone could access them and find what they need. “He was talkin’ countries,” Kylle explained.[10]
Promise Keepers event at the University of Boulder Stadium. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
Dick Clark with Estela and John Williams. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
Dick’s work and personal life were fueled by his Christian faith. He provided Estela Williams a role in ASKnet, but more importantly spiritually guided her family, making sure they avoided the mistakes he had made in the past. His desire to teach men led him to Promise Keepers, a Christian organization where men learned how to lead their families and care for fatherless families.[11] Dick also impacted the life of Dr. Marilyn Chipman. He learned that this widow had been a successful university professor, international conference speaker, and published author but for over a year she had been completely debilitated as she grieved her loss. Dr. Chipman shares insight into his compassionate heart for ministry by saying:
Upon hearing about my story and being introduced to me, Dick Clark took it upon himself as a personal mission to befriend me. I already was completely surrounded with the support of loved ones and members of my church. Yet Dick, due to his highly intellectual mind, had a different approach to helping. With patience, care, kindness and huge doses of humor, he began challenging and encouraging me to come alongside with him in his own various endeavors. As time passed, together we began writing a book, creating scripts for our radio program, co-presenting workshops at both educational and religious conferences, collaborating with multiethnic church and community groups, and watching the unfolding of his own singular vision and determination for ministry through ASKnet and Compassion on Wheels. Gently my new-found friend continued to lift me out of a dark pit, giving me courage to return to my former full life. Years later I was blessed to be there to say a fond and heartfelt goodbye to him the day before he passed away.
Dr. Chipman firmly states that Dick Clark was a giant of a man who truly loved serving God and truly loved helping people along life’s journey.[12]
Dick discovered that he had pancreatic cancer in 2004. Kylle recalls the second day after his surgery. He said “Ok, I gotta get up, I gotta get movin.” Dick proceeded to walk around the room. Kylle reflected on her own health struggles, saying, “that vision kept me going, each time that I got up, every day, I thought about him.” Dick died on Good Friday, March 25th, 2005. He was 70 years old.[13]
Dick and Kylle Hodges. (Courtesy of Kylle Hodges, personal collection)
Much of Dick’s plans were left undone. Before he died, he told Kylle to carry on with his vision of ASKnet. “It wasn’t my vision,” Kylle said. She couldn't make the vision come alive like her father did. Kylle struggled with this great responsibility, saying, “I didn't want to let that heartbeat go.” She was finally able to be relieved of this burden when she witnessed the heartbeat of her father live on in organizations and individuals. The seeds he has planted can be found in organizations such as the Children's Museum and Bud's Warehouse.[14] More importantly, Dick has planted seeds in the people he encountered. “I look at his grandchildren, everything they are, he was,” says Kylle. I know this to be true. My friend Jeremiah reflects what is told of his grandfather’s personality in constant storytelling, enthusiasm for life, outgoing joy, and a desire to make the future a better place.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Kylle Hodges, interview by Jack Bailey, Denver, Colorado, August 14, 2020, DU VLP.
[2] “Richard S. Clark Sr,” Find a Grave Index, AncestryLibrary, Accessed August 10, 2020.
[3] Emma Lyday Clark, “The Life of a Sojourner for Christ,” Obituary, April 4, 2005.
[4] Kylle Hodges, interview by Jack Bailey, Denver, Colorado, August 14, 2020, DU VLP.
[5] Emma Lyday Clark, “The Life of a Sojourner for Christ,” Obituary, April 4, 2005.
[6] Kylle Hodges, interview by Jack Bailey, Denver, Colorado, August 14, 2020, DU VLP.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Linda Reed, “The Umpires,” United Bank Tennis Classic, February 24, 1980.
[10] Kylle Hodges & Estela Williams, interview by Jack Bailey, Denver, Colorado, August 14, 2020, DU VLP.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Dr. Marilyn Chipman, email to Jack Bailey, October 19, 2020, DU VLP.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
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