Allen Clark, age 86 of Prescott, died peacefully, Saturday, March 23, 2024 at his residence. Allen was born on Nov. 20, 1937 in Ladysmith, Wis., the son of Edward Wilson and Lenora (Nelson) Clark. He was raised in Tony, Wis., where he attended elementary and high school. As a young man, he was married to the former Yvonne Smrstick. To this union children Allen, Christine, Julie, and Sue were born. This union would later dissolve. When he moved to the St. Paul area as a young strapping man, he began working in the construction industry; specifically, as an ironworker. He took great pride in his work and would let you know if the bridge you were driving over was worked on by him, or if the booming cell towers that you would drive by were scaled by him. In his early forties, a certain waitress at The County Point in Hastings caught his eye. He was rather smitten with her and got the nerve up to ask her out. She eventually said yes, and the rest is history. On June 8, 1985, Allen was united in marriage to Joan Helen Hoffman at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Hastings. For nearly 40 years, they were inseparable and their love grew stronger each year.
Allen thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting. He had fond memories of deer hunting with the guys back in Tony, Wis. or pheasant hunting with his dogs, particularly Sheena, his prized lab. He and Joan had many memorable trips to Canada fishing, and they never went without their limit of walleye (according to Al). When he retired, he took a part-time job at Emerald Greens Golf Course in Hastings. He loved the work there, made many good friends, and the free golf he got to play was a bonus. Allen and Joan also enjoyed 13 winters in Arizona golfing and enjoying times with dear friends and family. If you’ve had the privilege to visit with Joan and Allen at their home, you most certainly went away with a bottle of homemade maple syrup from the family business. If you had a peek into his garage and workshop, his love of woodworking was obvious. He so enjoyed using his God given talents to create keepsakes of many different shapes and sizes to give to those he cared for deeply. His most recent project was a rocking horse for his newest great grandchild Rhodes. Furthermore, he always looked forward to coffee with his friends at the Table of Knowledge at Ptacek’s.
Allen will fondly be remembered by his love, wife, and best friend Joan; and their children Christine (Don) Moe, Julie (Ron) Kaplan, Sue (Greg) Roe; Russell (Marin) Peterson, Douglas (Diane) Peterson, James (Mary Jo) Peterson, Dean (Lynette) Peterson; grandchildren Adam, Andrea (Ryan), Aaron, Faith, Tanner (Netta), Madi, (Max), Savvanah, Maizie, Nathan, Kayla (Joseph), Tia (Jared), Ben (Kandice), Mitchell (Kelsey), Creed, Fletcher, Estee; great grandchildren Rhodes, Joey, McKenna, Josiah, Alaina, Avery, Flynn, Greta. His parents and son Allen Jr. precede him in death.
Mass of Christian Burial for Allen was held on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Prescott. Burial will be in the Holy Rosary Cemetery in Medford, Wis. Memorials preferred to the discretion of the family.
Funeral services entrusted to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Prescott, https://oconnellfuneralhomes.com, 715-262-5404.
