William B. Clark

William B. Clark, 98 of Schenectady passed away on July 13, 2024 at Kingsway Arms Nursing Center. William was the son of the late Ellwood and Alice (Bailey) Clark and the husband of the late Shirley H. Clark. He was a member of the 1944 graduating class from Nott Terrace High School in Schenectady New York. He served with the U.S. Army’s 86th Blackhawk Infantry Division. The 86th Division was originally part of Operation Coronet, the proposed battle for the invasion of Tokyo Japan in August 1945. This all changed with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The 86th Division shipped out from San Francisco on the 24 August 1945, for a new destination of the Philippines. When the Philippines were granted independence on July 4, 1946 his company was picked as one of the Honor Guard Companies to meet General MacArthur at the airport. He obtained the rank of Corporal before being honorably discharged in the fall of 1946. After returning home William Clark started his career with General Electric in 1948 with the Advertising Sales Promotion department, but left in 1948 to study Electrical Engineering at Champlain College. In 1950 he went to work at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) with the Grounds and Buildings department and progressed to Laboratory worker with Auxiliary Operations that same year. He became a Liquid Metals Tester in1951 with the Liquid Metal System Section of the Engineering Division and in 1953 held the position of Laboratory Assistant in the Materials and Process Unit of the Metallurgy Section. In 1960 he became a Metallurgical Technician. Mr. Clark also attended Union College while working towards his college degree. He graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree in 1967. He supported the operation of the nuclear reactors at the West Milton Kesselring site. Because of his work with KAPL and the Kesselring site, he was invited to attend the launch of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) at Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia (USA), on 13 May 1972. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, with Troops 49 (Rotterdam) and 51 (Duanesburg). He attended several National Jamborees and spent a week with his sons Kerry and Bruce at the Philmont Scout Ranch. He continued as an adult leader with the Schenectady Boy Scout Council and earned the “Silver Beaver” award for years of volunteering at Camp Boyhaven. William Clark was also a member of the Schenectady Lodge #1174 F. & A.M. He always enjoyed wood working, snowshoe hiking in the winter, and woodchuck hunting. Predeceased by his parents, William is survived by his sons Kerry Clark (wife Bonnie) and Bruce Clark (wife Barbara). His wife of 60 years, Shirley H. Clark, passed away seven years before. William is also survived by his grandchildren Anna Clark, Mary Cairns (husband Ben), and William Clark as well as his two great grandchildren Callum Cairns and Grace Cairns. A visitation will be held on August 2 from 10-11 AM at Lynnwood Reformed Church, 3714 Carman Rd, Schenectady, NY followed by a funeral service at 11AM.Internment will take place at Memory Gardens Cemetery. Contributions can be made in William’s memory to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, and the RCA On-Mission Fund