Wayne Nelson Clark, known to those who knew him as Ola or Curly, died Thursday, Dec. 28. He was 90.
Wayne was born in Grand Rapids on July 2, 1933, to Harry and Lola Clark (Penrod). He was raised mostly in Northern and Western Michigan on farms and with foster families.
He married Ramona (Fransz), April 1, 1960. Their only child, a daughter, was born May 15, 1962. They named her Joanna Jean and he called her “JoJe” for short. He was a very good “girl dad” and grandpa. His four grandchildren are all girls too.
Wayne made friends with anyone he met. His sense of humor was unrivaled in the family; he loved teasing anyone and everyone, not even strangers were safe. When he laughed, his eyes twinkled.
The majority of Wayne’s career was spent in maintenance and quality control work for several companies. He retired from Kelvinator in the 1990s, but worked well into his retirement years at Davis Dental Lab, where he had many co-workers as close friends. Prior to working in maintenance, he was a short order cook at the Butter Wagon Restaurant in Grand Rapids, where his love of cooking began. He prided himself in his cooking skills and enjoyed recreating traditional Indonesian and Dutch dishes for his family, some of which still live on through his granddaughters. He was “famous” for his spaghetti and his fried rice.
Travel was a passion for Wayne and Ramona. They especially loved the many cruises they took together. Ramona was from Indonesia and a trip of a lifetime for Wayne was when they were able to return to her home country for a visit.
An annual family camping trip to Interlochen State Park was a highlight of his (and his granddaughters’) life every summer. A few good memories are of Wayne climbing a waterfall with some of his granddaughters in Jamaica and cruising down a waterslide with some of his great-grandsons at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City.
Wayne and Ramona loved to spoil their grandchildren, golf and bowl together, and cook together.
Opa lived independently in an apartment after his wife died until June 2023 and made many friends at Pine Oak Apartments in Wyoming, MI. His final months were spent at The Laurels of Sandy Creek in Wayland.
Wayne is survived by granddaughters Chrysalis (Vincent) Ashton, Cinnamon (Jared) LaBay, Chandra Barth and Cheyanne Barth, nine great-grandchildren Zavier, Quintin, Jacob, Archer, Lucas, Payton, Lily, Sullivan, and Ramona.
Opa’s wishes were to be directly cremated. There will be a memorial gathering from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Kubiak-Cook Funeral Home, 312 N. Main St., Wayland.
