Obituary of Frank Belden Clark

Frank Belden Clark passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 21 at 89. He was born on January 13, 1926 to Frank and Hazel (Puffer) Clark and lived his entire life in Glastonbury. After graduating from Glastonbury High, Frank joined the Air Force and served in Japan as a Communications Specialist. Upon returning home he attended Hillyer College (today University of Hartford) earning a degree in Engineering. Much of his engineering career was spent at Kaman Aerospace where he was a celebrated materials engineer who worked on helicopter rotor blades and earning a patent for his contemporary design. Frank's ingenuity was leveraged by Ovation Guitars, a division of Kaman, where he and a team developed the raised rosette design used on the guitar tops. Frank was devoted to his church, First Congregational of Glastonbury and a lifelong member. He also served the Glastonbury community through Green Cemetery Association and Historical Society. He enjoyed sailing, skiing, gardening, reading and exercising. He was known by family and friends to be a tinkerer. Nothing broken would remain so and everything could be improved upon. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the house he built on Highland Lake in Stoddard New Hampshire. There, he and Patricia McNair Clark, his bride of 56 years, spent their happiest days. Frank leaves behind two daughters: Melissa Clark Baribault of Middle Haddam (her husband David and children Allyson and William) and Deborah Clark Nelson of Darien (husband Peter and sons Timothy, Scott and Matthew). Frank was predeceased by his wife Patricia in 2011. A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, July 28 at 11 am at First Congregational Church Glastonbury, 2183 Main Street. Friends and family may call from 5-7pm on Monday, July 27 at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave. Donations may be made to the First Congregational Church Memorial Fund or to the Alzheimer Foundation.