Billy Clay Clark

Billy Clay Clark, 93, passed away on August 4, 2016 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was born April 12, 1923 in Tulsa to the late Clay King Clark and Lydia (Miller) Clark. They moved to Drumright in 1924, Billy graduated from Drumright High School in 1941 and then attended Oklahoma A&M College's Engineering School. In February 1943 Billy entered the U.S. Navy and became a Radarman First Class Petty Officer on a Destroyer Escort and served in the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II. Upon discharge in 1945, he returned to Drumright and married his high school sweetheart, Mary Elizabeth Frizzell in 1946. They returned to Stillwater where she assisted by working part-time and he completed his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with an Aeronautical Option Degree in 1948. In November 1950 twin sons, Michael Wayne and Mark Clay were born. Billy had played golf since he was 10 so it was natural that he would introduce his sons to the game. He enjoyed playing golf with them many times. As a member of Indian Springs Country Club in Broken Arrow for 24 years, he loved to play almost every day. He liked to enter the club tournaments and also the "Retired Old Boys" tournaments. Later when grandchildren visited, they ended up hitting golf balls or driving the golf cart. He loved his grandchildren and tried to spend as much time with them as possible. His first love of occupation was the Aviation field. In this area, he worked on the B-36 bomber built by Convair in Fort Worth, Texas, the Atlas Missile sites around Topeka, Kansas, the Titan II Missile sites around Tucson, Arizona and he served as a Supervisor in the Electronics Engineering Department of Tulsa's North American Aviation Division on the NASA Apollo Moonshot Program. He also worked for several major engineering companies such as Fluor Company, Refinery Engineering Company, and Lummus Crest, Inc. During his engineering career he was registered as a Professional Engineer in the state of Oklahoma and Texas. He was a member of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association, the Destroyer Escort Historic Museum, and a lifetime member of DAV, IEEE and the American Legion. He served as the Tulsa Section Chairman of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in 1979-1980. He retired in 1985 from Lummus Crest Inc. as a Senior Principal Engineer serving as a Project Manager or as a Project Director. After retirement he served as a Meals on Wheels driver for the Broken Arrow section for 19 years. He also continued to serve in the Tulsa American Legion Post 1 Honor Guard for 16 years. He also traveled to the Claremore Vet Center each month for 17 years to play bingo with the Vets. He joined the First Christian Church of Tulsa in 1977 and served on the Church Board for many years. Billy is survived by sons: Michael Wayne Clark and wife, Twila of Broken Arrow and Mark Clay Clark and wife, Luz of Kissimmee, FL; grand-daughters, Toni McKinney and husband, Matt and Tara Clark; grandson, Brett Michael Clark; great-grandsons; Dylan McKinney and Caden Clark all of Broken Arrow. Visitation will be held Sunday, August 7, 2016 from 2-4 p.m. at Moore's Southlawn Chapel and the Memorial Service will be held Monday, August 8, 2016 at First Christian Church, 913 S. Boulder, Tulsa, OK In lieu of flowers, Billy requested contributions be made to the First Christian Church Budget Contingency Fund.

Billy Clay Clark

April 12, 1923 - August 4, 2016