Dr. Val Clark

Dr. Val Clark, 79, of La Canada and Newport Beach, California, passed peacefully surrounded by the love of his family on Saturday, July 2, 2011. Val was born in St. George, Utah on March 30, 1932 to Earl B. and Iva Knell Clark. His youth was spent between Newcastle and Cedar City, UT and Hollywood, California graduating from Hollywood High School in 1950. After attending Southern Utah University where he served as Student Body President he went on to graduate from the University of Southern California School of Dentistry where he also served as Student Body President. Upon graduation from dental school, Val served in the U.S. Public Health Service stationed in El Reno, Oklahoma. It was there that he met the love of his life, Marilyn Estes. Val and Marilyn were married on July 19, 1960.
Val subsequently returned to USC to earn a post-graduate degree in Orthodontics. Graduating in 1962, Val began a successful orthodontic practice that lasted 32 years. He truly loved his practice and his patients. Val and Marilyn moved to La Canada with their two children in 1967 and purchased a summer home in Newport Beach in 1974.
Over the years, Val was also involved on the teaching staff at the USC School of Dentistry and was the founder and first president of the USC Orthodontic Alumni Association. He also served as president of several dental organizations and on the board of Counselors for the University of Southern California. Val was also one of the original founders of the Entrepreneur Program in the School of Business Management at Brigham Young University and gave various lectures to that group. He also served on the National Alumni Board for Southern Utah University.
Val’s hobbies were boating, bicycling, windsurfing, working out, traveling and most importantly spending time with his family. His hobby of windsurfing led to his being appointed commissioner of the Olympic Board Sailing Exhibition in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Val had a genuine interest and love for everyone he met. No one was a stranger to him and he treated everyone he met with kindness, love and respect.
The favorite hobby of Val’s life was his family. Nothing else could ever compare to the joy he felt when he was with his family. He always said, “What would life mean if you didn’t have a family to share it with?”
Val is survived by his wife, two children, a daughter-in-law, son-in-law and four grandchildren: Marilyn Clark, of La Canada; Camdon Clark and Greg Eberhardt of La Canada; Cray and Jeannie Clark of Newport Beach; and grandchildren Brynne and Kendall Eberhardt and Katie and Daniel Clark.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the ALS Society at www.alsa.org
A graveside service will be held at Cedar City Cemetery in Cedar City, Utah on July 15, 2011 at 10 a.m. followed by a celebration of life at the Alumni House, 351 West University Blvd. Celebrations of Val’s life will also take place in La Canada on July 23 at 6:30 pm at the home of Camdon Clark Eberhardt located at 4224 Shepherds Lane and in Newport Beach on July 30, 2011 at 2-4:30pm at the Balboa Bay Club.