Obituary of Robertson W. Clark

Robertson (Reggie) William Clark b. January 6, 1937 D. June 5, 2020 Born in Hartford CT son of William Clark of Greenock Scotland and Christina (Robertson) Clark of Aberdeen Scotland. Reggie was raised in Enfield CT and settled in Springfield MA.  As a young child he spent a great deal of time in Scotland with his maternal grandmother and family, attending primary school there. He graduated from Enfield High School and attended Springfield Technical Community College.  He worked for many years at Hallmark Cards as an electrician ultimately leaving to drive the open roads of the country as a long-haul truck driver for Schneider International and Martin Brower.  After a decade of trucking, he returned from the road and finished his career at the Springfield DPW driving an extractor truck he dubbed Snuffleupagus.  Reggie loved to travel and spent much of his recreational time outdoors in and near the woods and always near water.  From the many transatlantic crossings as a child, to fishing the North Sea with his uncles, to weekends and summers at his family cottage in Madison CT.  Reggie shared his passion for the outdoors with his children with family camping trips in Vermont, Maine, and Upstate New York.  Always weaving in educational or nature stops along the way and always teaching his girls how to survive; from shooting a gun and bow and arrow, to reading a map and starting a fire to foraging for fiddleheads and mushrooms.  After retirement Reggie and his beloved wife Aileen took to the open road in their RV and traveled the country for ten years visiting spots of interest to his curious mind along with visits to daughters and other family members who lived all across the United States and Canada. Reggie was an avid reader and in his later years became adept at researching whatever sparked his interest via the internet, he was also a skilled and disciplined writer journaling his experiences for much of his life.  Reggie will be best remembered as a truly loving and caring soul bestowed with the gift of gab; always at the ready with a story to tell laced with witty remarks to charm his audience.   He made friends wherever his traveled sparking up conversations with complete strangers and made everyone feel as if they were important to him bestowing nicknames to everyone his knew.  He was predeceased by his sister Charlotte (Clark) Frangimore, brother in laws Vernon Frangimore, James Shaw, Ernest Shaw, Mervin Cooley, sisters in laws Patricia Broadway, Delia Cooley, and Brenda Prajzner and survived by his wife Aileen (Shaw), daughters Kimberly and Derick Brito of Box Elder SD, Sherri and Thomas Williams of Pennsville NJ, Christina Fisk of Belchertown MA, Pamela and Anthony Rogers of Hampden MA, Charlene and Roy Longley of O’Fallon IL, grandchildren Heather Schultz, Sean Williams, Derek Mallalieu, Reginald Mallalieu, Ian O’Hagan, Meaghan Rogers, Katherine Williams, Colin Rogers and Donovan Longley and great grandchildren Elijah Schultz, Allison Williams, Benjamin Schultz, Aidan Schultz, Hudson Rogers and Blake Rogers.  He is also survived by his in-laws Eugene and Beatrice Shaw of Northfield VT, Sandra Shaw of Etowah TN, Wayne Bradway of Palmer MA, Frederick and Sandra Shaw of Asheville NC, Robert and Anita Shaw of Enfield CT, Sharon and Michael McIntyre of Asheville NC, Roxana and Donald Babcock of Vernon CT, Mary and Steve Riley of Stafford Springs CT and Deborah and Stephen Rozell of Bolton CT.  as well as his Nephew William Frangimore and 42 nieces and nephews.  The family would like to thank Palmer Dialysis and Dr. Spencer Haller for their loving care these past years. Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Federated Community Church of Hampden with interment immediately following at Hill Crest Park Cemetery in Springfield MA. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Kidney Foundation.  Due to COVID-19 services are restricted.  The family invites you to join them virtually at http://client.tribucast.com/tcid/519720205