Dr. John Whitlock Clarke

On December 13, 2022, Dr. John Whitlock Clarke passed away quietly in his home in Louisburg, KS after a short illness. Although he was 96, he remained healthy and active.

Memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 7, 2022, at the Louisburg United Methodist Church, 249 N Metcalf Rd, Louisburg, KS 66053. Visitation will take place 30 minutes prior to the service. Private burial service will take place later in Minnesota.

John’s death was preceded by his wife Lynn of 56 years, who passed in 2005 and his daughter Lynn, in 1997. He remarried in 2007 and is survived by his wife Ida (Nesmith), his two other children Debbie (Steve) Friedlein, Bob (Joanne) Clarke, and son in law Bill (Judy) Griffiths, grandchildren Carrie Griffiths, Christine (Kevin) Bruce, Courtney (Vince) Carter, Jesse (Tania) Friedlein, Steven (Mandy) Friedlein, Ashley (Chris) Irvin, Nick (Kaelyn) Clarke and great grandchildren Daisy Lynn, Caroline, Wesley, Ivy and Canyon, Ida’s daughters Megan (Chance) Ragan, Tristan Mohn and grandchildren Shelbi, Kolten and Patricia.

He was born in Kentucky in 1926 to parents John R and Edith Clarke. John served in the US Army rising to the rank of First Lieutenant in the Tank Corps and was one of the first occupation troops in Japan in WWII. He received his medical degree in 1951 from the University of Louisville (KY) and loved being the family doctor to thousands, only stopping in 2020 due to the pandemic, having been a practicing physician for an astonishing 69 years. Starting his practice in Watertown, MN he soon moved to Waconia, MN in 1957 where he and his partner founded the Lakeview Clinic which today boasts more than 50 physicians. He then moved to other cities as well where he continued to practice medicine and while also serving at times in medical administration for health systems. His love for Hawaii beckoned, and he moved to Hana, Maui full time for several years to serve as the only physician, an experience which had a lasting impact on his life. 30 years later many in the town are still fond of John. Moving back to the mainland he continued his passion of medical care in Arizona and Kansas. Always being the advocate for primary care physicians, he worked tirelessly to ensure that primary care was always at the forefront of medicine.

Grandpa, as he was known to his family, always amazed us with his endless desire to take road trips or pilot a plane across the country. As recently as a few months ago he drove (yes, he drove!) to AZ to see friends and on to MT to meet his new great-grandson. He continued to downhill ski into his ’80s because he said, “I might as well use my new knees” and played golf while blaming his shoulders for his missed shots. Large breakfasts were his passion along with peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwiches for lunch. He was a strong man of faith and could be found in his church choir or even occasionally behind the pulpit. Always the grammar police, one of his favorite sayings was, “Rugs lie on a floor, chickens lay eggs.” A sign of his ability to connect with people, no matter where he was in his travels, is that someone would invariably come up to him that he knew from his past or he would strike up a conversation and make a new friend.

To honor John’s life’s work, the John W Clarke, MD Legacy Scholarship has been created at the University of Louisville School of Medicine to honor his commitment in supporting aspiring family practice doctors interested in rural health. For donations: https://bit.ly/3PSPKbl Please indicate an amount and include his name in the “additional details” section of the payment form to ensure it is allocated to this fund. Donations can also be mailed to: University of Louisville Foundation, PO Box 772050, Chicago, IL 60677-2050 (Indicate his name in the check memo or cover letter)