Dr. Eldred (Eli) Merlyn Clark Obituary (1941 - 2017)

Dr. Eldred (Eli) Merlyn Clark returned to his heavenly home on February 11, 2017 after a valiant battle with cancer. His devotion to his family and his firm belief in God supported him in his struggle and ultimately gave him peace. Eli was born to the late Floyd Daniel Clark and Luella Simon, in Sonoma, CA on July 16, 1941. He was a scouting enthusiast and spent many childhood summers at Silver Lake Boy Scout Camp often referring to this as his "happy place". Eli grew up in Vallejo, CA and joined the Naval Submarine Reserve at 16 yrs of age. He served 2.5 years on an LDS Mission to Germany Central. He highly valued education and received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Brigham Young University and his PhD in Nutrition and Food Science from Utah State University. Eli married his sweetheart Madeline Newman on Aug 10, 1985. He was blessed with a large family that he loved spending time with. He had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, dedication to the LDS church and served in various callings. In his later years he served with his beautiful bride as senior missionaries in the Salt Lake City, Inner City Mission. Eli was an educator at heart. He was kind and light-hearted, quick to laugh or share a joke, and always had time to answer a question or solve a problem, no matter how small. He is dearly missed by his loved ones, who celebrate the fact that he is at peace with his creator. Eli is survived by his wife, Madeline, his 16 children, 44 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and 4 siblings. He is preceded in death by his parents and his son-in-law, Paul Kenneth Stewart. Viewing will be held February 16, 2017 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral home in South Jordan. Services will be held at the LDS Country Park Stake Center at 2447 West 11400 South, South Jordan, UT 84095 on Friday February 17, 2017. Viewing will begin at 10:00 am with the funeral service at 11:00 am. Interment will take place at the Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park in Bluffdale, UT. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up at America First Credit Union (Account 315325671). Prayers, condolences, and memories can be made at www.jenkins-soffe.com Funeral Home: Jenkins-Soffe South Valley 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT