Sam Denton Clark was born September 10, 1935 to Alphus and Ollie Murray Clark in Cookeville, Tennessee. He was the youngest of six children.

Sam passed away on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Lynn Haven FL. He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings and former wives: Dolores Clark, Panama City, FL, The mother of his daughter Michele. Judy Clark, Valdosta, GA. He is survived by his wife, Lunell Clark; daughter Michele and son-in-law Gene Brandow, his granddaughters and their spouses, Angela and Anthony Black, Jennifer and Brandon Nor, and Heather and Timmy Dickison. His great grandchildren are: Tristan, Dakota and Jase Black; Aulani and Asher Nor and Kayden, Gunner and Odin Dickison.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 10 am at the Wilson Funeral Home with Pastor Chad Bass officiating and Reverend Roger Dale Hagan. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 9-10 a.m. Tuesday prior to the service. Interment will follow in the Wausau Memorial Gardens, Wausau, FL.

Sam was employed in food services for most of his career. He was the cook at Bay County eateries including the Tally Ho, Jimmy’s Drive In and the Chicken Box. He cooked for several oil companies on supply and standby boats off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. He also cooked on oil survey boasts off the coasts of New Jersey and New York.

Freshwater fishing was a favorite past time. While in Bay County, he lived on Resota Beach Road and would stop at Deerpoint lake or bridge on his way home from work and fish almost every day.

Sam enjoyed working in the yard gardening (canning and freezing a variety of vegetables), raising chickens, turkeys, hogs and tending a worm bed. He enjoyed picking a variety of guitars which he had in his small collection. Once he gifted a guitar to a young man interested in learning to play, but couldn’t afford one. Sam played guitar at church and with his buddies in his home.

Sam was very interested in all kinds of guns, knives and swords as well as coins. He would spend hours looking at them, inspecting them, talking about them, adding enhancements and polishing them. He

Sam enjoyed walks in the forest and vacations by air, land and sea. He cruised in many of the Caribbean Islands and vacationed in Cozumel, Yucatan, Hawaii, Alaska and many of the lower 48 states. He especially enjoyed the yearly trips to the mountains in the fall.

Sam enjoyed making a big breakfast for Lunell and serving it bedside. He loved to make stews and soups with a variety of meats and vegetables. He made a pretty good cornbread and everybody knew he made a mean spaghetti.

He enjoyed time with children and young people, especially his great grands. He never encountered a baby or toddler with whom he didn’t interact. He can talk incessantly about Michele as a baby, and toddler and school days. She was the pride of his life. Even today they have a daddy-daughter date night once a week. Sam takes her to dinner, then a movie or to the bay to watch the sunset or go shopping.

He enjoyed the fine arts: stage plays, musicals, dance, paintings and sculptures. He attended every musical and stage play that he could. He was a longtime member of the Panama City Music Association and was a volunteer at the Kaleidoscope Theater.

Sam served in the National Guard in FL, AL and GA for 12 years. His training was in combat. Sam was also a proud member of the NRA.

Same enjoyed watching TV. He like wrestling, history, National Geographic, Discover, Pickers, Fox News and Animal Planet, but Westerns were his favorite. His favorite actors were John Wayne, James Stewart, James Arness, Clint Eastwood and Autie Murphy.

He was an avid writer of songs and poems and avid reader. He liked reading about Indians, wars, history and genealogy. He always has a pen & pad so he could write whenever he felt like it.

Sam was an individualist. He would say, My name is Sam; Take me as I am”, No pretense; just Sam. He was a person who spoke little, listened much and was always the champion of the underdog. He was always giving away anything he owned that he thought would make someone else happy. You never left him without being given something.

Some quotes that fit Sam are: “Love is the beauty of the earth” (St Augustine). Life learned feeling quoted by Sam: “I know more than I say, think more than I speak and notice more than you realize”. “Life is not measured by what we accumulate but by what we give away” (unknown), “Life’s completeness and richness depends on the things we share with our loved ones and friends” (Helen Steiner Rice). A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles” (Christopher Reeves).

The most important thing that happened Sam’s life was accepting Christ as his Savior in 1972.

(Read poem Sam wrote) August 30, 1972

I Found My Master

I’ve walked these streets of sin and sorrow; I’ve lived a life o shame.

I’ve lived so long for the devil: I was bound with his chains.

Then one day I heard a voice telling me to change my ways and now I’m living for my Savior,

Glory, now I praise his Holy name.

Yes, I’ve found my Master, Lord and King; now I carry his cross and he sees me through; he carries all my burdens, he suffers all my pain, he gives me a home in Glory to walk those streets of gold.

Oh yes, I’ve found my Master and a new life, body and soul!

Although he strayed from God’s word and faltered in his walk with Jesus Christ, he renewed his relationship with Christ at the House of Prayer Church on January 29th, 2006 and was baptized there on March 12th. He is a new creature in Christ!

Sam attended the House of Prayer Church where he was a guitarist. He became a member of Trinity for 8 years and presently attends Central Pentecostal Ministries Church.

Active pallbearers will be Brandon Nor, Chris Carroll, Steve Rogers, Jimmy Rogers, Charles Stephenson, and Adam Dick.

Honorary pallbearers will be Rick Higbee, Robert “Bobby” Haddock, Daryl Johnson, Clayton Thurgood, Albert Vealey, Matt Jackson, Roy Pomes, Bruce Kershaw, Daniel Lisenby, W.A. “Will” Rogers, Dennis Ard, Wayne Carter and Earl Newton.

Junior Honorary pallbearers are Tristan Black, Dakota Black, Jase Black, Asher Nor, Gunner Dickison and Odin Dickison.