Marvin Donald Clark

Sept. 25, 1935-Oct. 19, 2020

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Marvin Donald Clark, 85, passed away Oct. 19, 2020, at his home in Gruendau, Germany.

He was born Sept. 25, 1935, at Humboldt, Illinois, and was the son of Donald and Esther Clark of Crawfordsville, who are both deceased.

Marvin graduated from Crawfordsville High School in 1953 where he played trumpet and was president of the band as well as being a member of the National Honor Society. He was also an active member of the Crawfordsville High School Choir. He was a member of the Crawfordsville Evangelical United Brethren Church from 1944-1957 where he was very involved in youth fellowship and played his trumpet in the church orchestra each Sunday morning.

Marvin then attended and graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1957, where he also was a member of the the varsity debate team and the marching band.  Marvin then completed a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1967.

He married Ingrid Vetter in 1969 in Frankfurt, Germany, and was an active member of the Church of the Nazarene in Gelnhausen, Germany.

Marvin was a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1958 to 1972, where he flew 500 combat missions in Vietnam from 1968-1969. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and an Air Medal with 20 oak leaf clusters with tours of duty in Spain in 1969 and Germany 1970-1972.

Following his military career, Marvin spent 20 years as investment banker with Merrill Lynch in Frankfurt and Bache in Düsseldorf, Germany. Marvin was well respected by his colleagues and retired 2001 from Merrill Lynch.

Marvin is survived by wife Ingrid Clark, Gruendau, Germany; sister Marilyn Petrie of Ft. Wayne; nephew Michael White of Ridgefield, Connecticut; niece Ronda Rocky of Bloomfield, Indiana; nephew Eric White of Seneca, South Carolina; sister-in-law Helga Reuter of Frankfurt, Germany; brother-in-law Jerry Petrie of Ft. Wayne; and aunt Mary Grooms, Sullivan, Illinois.

Funeral at 11 a.m. Sept. 25 at Shrader Funeral Home, 204 N. Locust, Arcola, Illinois.

Burial with Air Force Salute at the Humboldt, Ill. Cemetery, noon or shortly thereafter.

A memorial dinner will be held afterwards at 1 p.m. at Luigi’s, 1610 Broadway, Mattoon, Illinois. 

Marvin will be sorely missed by his family and friends.


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