CHARLESTON, S.C. — Rick Clark passed away suddenly due to complications related to Parkinson’s Disease. He was born Feb. 24, 1953, in Bristol, Conn., the son of Doris and Don Clark.

A resident of Shoreham, Whiting, and Middlebury for over 40 years, Rick loved Vermont, riding his mountain bike up and down Snake Mountain and road biking throughout the Champlain Valley. Always passionate about music, as a young man he played bass guitar with the band Out of Bounds, and even after Parkinson’s robbed him of the ability to always hit the right note he was grateful to his friends Jim Keating and Tom Boise and to his brother-in-law Scott Canavan for long afternoons spent jamming.

Most of all Rick loved his large, loving and boisterous family, with whom he was especially close. The annual “lake week” at Sunset Lake, holidays and other laugh-filled occasions with his children Sofia and Oakley and stepdaughter Georgiana, and his five brothers and sisters and his many nieces and nephews, were a source of great joy to him, as were visits to Colorado to visit his stepdaughter Emma and her partner Drew. And more recently, his nearly daily visits from his stepdaughter Annie Powell, her husband Christopher, and grandkids Caroline and Jack, who loved their “Ricky,” brightened his days.

A self-proclaimed “foodie,” he enjoyed great food and drink shared with Kirsten, his wife of nearly twenty years, and close friends.

Rick showed amazing courage as he traveled along his “Parkinson’s Journey,” as he called it. He welcomed the friends he made participating in the Parkinson’s Rock Steady boxing program and later formed firm bonds with his caregivers, Philip Edles and Bill Glover. He loved to share stories with them about his attempt to ride his bike across Canada and to laugh about other youthful escapades. Rarely complaining, even as his disease severely degraded his quality of life, he relished dinners and outings with his sister Sue and her husband Syd.

He is survived by his wife, Kirsten Hoving; daughter, Sofia; son, Oakley; stepdaughters, Giorgiana Perna and her daughter Camila Bisogno, and Annie Powell McDaniel and her husband Christopher McDaniel and their children Caroline and Jack McDaniel, and Emma Powell; brother Jim Clark and his wife Nanette Lefevre Clark and their son Jasper Clark; sister Catherine Canavan and her husband Scott Canavan and their daughter Winter Canavan her husband Nate Beckles and their son Grayden Beckles, and their son Silas Canavan and his wife Allyson Crasnick and their children Ryleigh and Kellen Canavan; brother Tom Clark and his wife Liz Clark and their daughters Avary, Alivia, Emily, and Kaitlyn Clark; sister Sue Shuler and her husband Syd; sister Patty Small and her husband Steve Small and their daughters Alaina and Emma Small

He will be greatly missed by his family, and his many friends in Vermont and South Carolina. A celebration of Rick’s life will be held at a future date.

Contributions in his memory can be made to: Rock Steady Boxing (http://rocksteadyboxing.org/donate), and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (http://michaeljfox.org/give). ◊