John Harris Clarke

John H. Clarke, of Belgrade, Montana, passed away on Tuesday, December 1, 2015. He was born in Havre, Montana on December 27, 1923, the son of Edmund and Barbara Clarke. After completing High School, John served six years in the Navy during which he worked as a Motor Machinist Mate/Engineman First Class. He served on the USS Angler (SS-240) from its launch from New London, Connecticut on July 4, 1943 and was one of the original commissioning crew. He received the following medals and awards: Submarine Combat Pin (3 stars), Asiatic-Pacific, American Theatre, Good Conduct Medal, Philippine Liberation (2 stars), Commendation Ribbon, and the Victory Medal WWII.

While stationed in Bremerton, Washington, he met the love of his life, Meredith “Merry” Rintoul, and they were married on January 2, 1946. After his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1948, he and Merry moved back to the family ranch in Highwood, Montana. Later they relocated to Fergus, Montana in 1955, owning and operating Shelternook Ranch until 1977. From Montana they moved to Oregon, and in the fall of 2013, John moved back to Montana where he lived with his son until his death.

In addition to ranching, he was an avid hunter and fisherman; he also shared his passion for the great outdoors by guiding numerous clients on hunting expeditions at the ranch. He learned the art of woodturning at a young age and after after his retirement from ranching rekindled his love of woodturning. He became a master at his craft and sold his unique designs all over the United States as well as the world, as far away as Australia. He also mentored many people in the fine art of woodturning.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Edmund and Barbara Clarke; his brother and sister-in-law, Edmund “Ned” and Dora Clarke Jr, and his wife of 62 years Merry. He is survived by his four children: daughters: Barbara (Tony) Clarke-Tye of Bozeman, MT; Addie (Mark) Calbick of Bozeman, MT; April (Joel) Borders of Huron, SD and son Alec (Kristine) Clarke of Belgrade, MT; ten grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren. He deeply loved Montana and was extremely proud of his family.

When asked how he wanted to be remembered his response was “as a country boy”. You can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Warriors and Quiet Waters (http://warriorsandquietwaters.org/) or Big Hearts under the Big Sky (http://www.bigheartsmt.org/).