ADDISON — Erwin “Red” Clark, 87, of Addison, passed away on his birthday, Nov. 3, 2019, in the same house he was born in. He passed away only moments after “Happy Birthday” was sung to him by his whole family.
He was born on Nov. 3, 1932, to Erwin Stickle Clark and Geraldine Lyon Clark. He married Janet Clark of Cornwall on Sept. 15, 1962.
He graduated from Vergennes High School in 1949 and attended UVM.
He served in the Air Force (1955-1959) as a weatherman, stationed on Iwo Jima in the Pacific. His radio handle was “Easy Charlie.”
He was a dairy farmer in Addison for many years, owning Champlain Valley Farm on Route 22A.
He was a representative to the Eastern Milk Producers for 11 years, and was also on the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center Advisory Board.
He was a life member of the Addison Fire Department, with 56 years of service, having joined in September of 1963. He held the positions of pumper lieutenant, tanker lieutenant, first assistant chief and president. In 2009, he was recognized as the Senior Firefighter of the Year by the Vermont State Firefighters Association.
He was a member of the Addison Community Baptist Church and was still serving as a deacon, after over 40 years.
He served the town, including on the zoning board, as Justice of the Peace, town auditor, and town agent. He was also considered to be the unofficial historian. Many calls from people doing historical research were directed to him. After the original Champlain Bridge was closed, he put together a program on the construction of the bridge and presented it several times on both sides of the lake.
His favorite make of tractor was Oliver. He owns three Oliver tractors, and an Oliver OC-6 crawler, and had owned several others over the years. Some of these tractors appeared at tractor pulls at Field Days, which he pulled in for 50 years. He always enjoyed going to old engine and tractor shows.
He enjoyed sharing his musical voice, and was a past member of the Otter Creek Choral Society and the Middlebury College Community Chorus and the church choir.
Besides his wife he leaves behind his children, Scott (Kathy), Brad (Sandy), Pamela (Matthew) Gevry, and Kyle (Lisa Audet). He also leaves 11 grandchildren, Jarrett, Morgen, Rachel, Ethan (Ashlie), Jason, Broc, Kayla, Lillian, Holden, Zeke and Mitchell.
Calling hours are 5-8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Brown-McClay Funeral home in Vergennes. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, at the Addison Community Baptist Church in Addison.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Addison Fire Department, 44 VT Route 17W, Addison, VT 05491, or Addison County Home Health and Hospice, PO Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753.◊