Clark Inbody

Clark Inbody, 90, died Oct. 8, 2013, at the Teton Medical Center Extended Living Facility in Choteau, Mont.



The funeral is at 2 p.m. Oct.12 at the Choteau United Methodist Church with a private inurnment in the Choteau Cemetery preceding the service.



Clark was born on Oct. 4, 1923, at home near Farmington, Mont., the son of Roy and Hannah (Graedel) Inbody. He attended East Farmington rural school, Choteau Elementary and graduated from Teton County High School in Choteau in 1942. Clark attended Montana State College in Bozeman, Mont., where he studied engineering.



Clark was drafted into the Army Signal Corps in 1943 but was later "shanghaied" (as he put it) into the Army Air Corps where he served until 1945. Clark spent most of his military service with the 40th Bomb Squadron of the 6th Bomb Group on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. On one notable occasion, Technical Sergeant Inbody tuned the radar set on the Enola Gay before her historic mission over Hiroshima, Japan.



Clark then returned to the family farm in the Premium Center community and was a respected and hard-working farmer until his retirement in 1991. In retirement, Clark continued to be a good neighbor by trading helping friends with farm work for shoveling sidewalks and otherwise lending a hand.



On Oct. 16, 1946, Clark married Patricia Ann Moulton in Kalispell, Mont., and said that "marrying Pat was the best thing [he] ever did." This coming Oct. 16 would have marked 67 years together.



A family man, Clark never forgot the pain of losing his parents as a young boy so he treasured time with his family. Picnics and hikes in the mountains, holiday dinners with extended family, and time spent together at home were all important to Clark but his daily example of steadfast love, high moral standards and a story for every occasion sustained Pat and his daughters.



Clark was a creative man who loved to grow a large garden and to keep a well-manicured lawn. Under his care, plants flourished and flowers bloomed abundantly. A handy person, Clark could build or repair nearly anything he or his family needed. His creativity also shone through the stories he loved to tell, especially if he could make someone laugh.



Ever community-minded, Clark was a life-long member of the Choteau United Methodist Church. He served on the rural Premium Center District No. 7 Board of Trustees and then on the Choteau Schools Board of Trustees which oversaw the design and the construction of the current Choteau High School facility. Clark served first on the Teton Memorial Hospital Board and cared so deeply about the need for a hospital in Choteau that he went door-to-door raising money to build that hospital. Later, Clark served on the Teton Medical Center Board, again during the design and the construction phases, and then served on the TMC Foundation Board. Clark was a long-time member of Choteau International Order of Odd Fellows, Number 11, and was a Past Grand. Mindful of the area youth, Clark also served as a 4-H project leader.



Clark is survived by his wife, Patricia, of Choteau; daughters, Susan (Robert) Facklam of Choteau and Irene (Lee) Britton of Portland, Ore.; sister, Lucile Waters, and sister-in-law, Geraldine Paulus, both of Choteau; grandchildren, Katie Facklam of Missoula; Marya (Zackery) Repko of Wichita, Kan.; Caleb (Elizabeth) Britton, Joshua (Brenda) Britton and Ruth (Keoni) Yasui, all of Portland; great-granddaughter, Zoey Repko, of Wichita; and several nieces and nephews.



Clark was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Hannah Inbody; his brother, Glen Inbody; brothers-in-law DeLoss O. (Bud) Moulton, Harold Waters and Willard Paulus; and sisters-in-law, Mildred Inbody, Hilda Moulton and Geneva Moulton.



Memorials are suggested to the Intermountain Children's Home in Helena, Mont., the Teton Medical Center Foundation Board Endowment Fund, the United Methodist Church or a charity of choice.