Joseph “Fred” Clark, 81, of High Ridge died March 29, 2024, in Fenton. Mr. Clark is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of Robeson County, N.C. He was raised in Pembroke, N.C., but moved to Detroit in 1955 so his father could join the Chrysler Corp. He only had a 10th-grade education when he began work in a butcher shop, before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1964. He met and married his wife and they had a child while he was stationed in Berlin, later returning to the U.S. in 1967. He ended his four-year enlistment as a staff sergeant. In 1968, he moved his family to St. Louis and began work at the Chrysler Corp., joining his father as an assembly line operator. He was promoted to management and eventually to receiving inspection manager and supplier quality manager before his retirement in 1990. At that point, he started Lumbee Enterprises Inc., a service provider for both St. Louis Chrysler plants in Fenton. Over the next 18 years, his business expanded into Windsor, Detroit, Greenville and Dublin, Va. Mr. Clark honored his Lumbee heritage in his work. In the 2000s he and his son sold some of their out-of-state locations, their last in 2009 when the Chrysler St. Louis plants halted production. He was known for his tough, old-school style of management, but also for his loyalty, approachability and generosity. Born Sept. 18, 1942, in Rowland, N.C., he was the son of the late Anna (Dial) and Joseph H. Clark.
He is survived by his wife: Sue (Geiss) Clark; a son: Tim (Colleen) Clark; three grandchildren: Shannon E. Clark, Nicole C. Clark and Max T. Clark; a sister: Audrey Yarbrough; and numerous family members and friends.
He is preceded in death by five siblings: Gwendolyn Graham, James W. Clark, Earl C. Clark, Aubrey Clark and Kenneth Clark.
Visitation is scheduled from 11 a.m. until services at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at Chapel Hill Mortuary, 6300 Hwy. 30, in Cedar Hill. Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Cedar Hill. Arrangements are under the direction of Chapel Hill Mortuary.