Longtime Des Moines resident Clark B. Snure passed away on Wednesday, March 26 at age 83.
Clark opened a law firm in town in June of 1964, and served on the Chamber of Commerce, the Woodmont Elementary PTA, the Des Moines Rotary Club, the Des Moines Legacy Foundation and the Des Moines Arts Commission. He also served on numerous boards and committees in his effort to make the community of Des Moines a better place. Clark also taught legal classes for many years at Highline Community College.
“Although our father had many talents and interests, his life was defined by his three primary passions, family, work and husky football!” according to a memorial the family posted online.
Clark was a huge UW Husky fan, first purchasing season tickets as a college freshman in 1948 yet remaining a season ticket holder to the present day – that’s 66 years of being a Dawg!
In addition to his sons Kraig, Kirk and Brian, Clark is survived by his two daughters in law, Leslie and Donna, two grand daughters, Erika and Emily and two grandsons, Axl and Colton.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances in Clark’s honor can be made to the Des Moines Rotary Foundation (P.O. Box 98073, Des Moines, WA 98198) or the Des Moines Legacy Foundation (P.O. Box 13582, Des Moines, WA 98198).
Here’s the full memorial posted by his family:
]]>In Loving Memory Clark B. Snure April 30, 1930 – March 26, 2014
It is with great sorrow that we must share that our father, Clark B. Snure, passed away peacefully March 26, 2014. It is with great joy that we remember a father, husband and friend that lived a full life and left the world a better place than he found it. Clark was born in Puyallup in 1930 and grew up in Edgewood with his father Clark and his mother Clara. By all accounts it was a good life growing up in rural Edgewood, with places to roam with his friends and his dog. He shared with us stories of long drives into Seattle on Military road to visit family, winters skiing at Paradise on Mt. Rainer, summer days of camping on the deserted islands of Lake Tapps and the toils of working on the local daffodil farms. Our dad graduated from Puyallup High School in 1948 and was the first of his family to attend the University of Washington. Financial difficulties required that he take a quarter off but he joined Alpha Sigma Phi, worked as a house boy and joined ROTC to help pay his way through school. After graduating from the UW he served two years in the Air Force and during this time met the most amazing woman, Marilyn Krekow Snure, our mother. Clark and Marilyn were married in 1955 and dad attended law school at the University of Washington while our mother taught school. After graduating from the UW law school in 1958 Clark joined the faculty of the University of Washington Law School and then in 1959, joined Kumm, Maxwel, Peterson & Lee, a small firm in downtown Seattle. After five years, Clark decided that he wanted to establish his own firm and set his sights on the City of Des Moines where, in June of 1964 he opened his law practice with few clients but many dreams. In 1966 mom and dad completed building their house in Des Moines and settled down with their three sons Kraig, Kirk and Brian and began living the family life. After settling in Des Moines, Clark became very active in the Des Moines community, joining and leading the Jaycees, the Chamber of Commerce, the Woodmont Elementary PTA, the Des Moines Rotary Club, the Des Moines Legacy Foundation and the Des Moines Arts Commission. Clark served on numerous boards and committees in his effort to make the community of Des Moines a better place. Clark also taught legal classes for many years at Highline Community College. Our father had many interests in life including jazz music and, in his later years developed his artistic talents by creating metal artworks that he would generously donate to local charity auctions. Although our father had many talents and interests, his life was defined by his three primary passions, family, work and husky football! Together with our mom, dad always put family first. Although he worked hard and worked a lot he always made time for family, from serving as PTA president and building the cardboard box mazes for the annual Woodmont Spring Thing, to taking us camping, hiking and travelling throughout the West, he was a role model that gave each of us a solid foundation in life. In addition to his sons, Clark is survived by his two daughters in law, Leslie and Donna, two grand daughters, Erika and Emily and two grandsons, Axl and Colton. He will be deeply missed. While serving his community and raising his family our father also built a thriving and successful law practice and was a member of the Washington State Bar for fifty years before he retired. In 1964, shortly after opening his law practice Clark was asked if he would serve as the secretary to the Board of Commissioners for King County Fire Protection District No. 26. Little did he know that his decision to take on that role would place him at the forefront of the development of fire district law and management over the next four decades. Clark’s accomplishments in the fire service are legendary. In addition to his forty-five years as secretary to the Board of Commissioners of King 26 (South King Fire and Rescue) Clark personally represented over 400 fire districts and fire departments many of which have now merged or disappeared through annexations. Clark served as the draftsman for the committee that rewrote the laws governing fire districts in the 1980’s and was the driving force behind years of educational development of fire districts in Washington. Beginning in the 1980’s Clark and the Director of Washington Fire Commissioner’s Association decided to begin educating fire commissioners, chiefs and secretaries on the legal requirements surrounding the operation of a fire district. In the early years Clark would barnstorm the state presenting numerous seminars per year. Over his career, Clark has presented hundreds of seminars and classes in Washington and Oregon and authored over 13 handbooks covering all facets of the fire districts and the law. Because of Clark’s efforts, the fire service in Washington today is far more sophisticated and professional than it would have been without the guidance, thought and passion that he brought to the practice of law and the representation of fire districts.Finally, we can’t talk about our dad without mentioning Husky football. He first purchased season tickets as a college freshman in 1948 and remained a season ticket holder to the present day, 66 years of being a Dawg! While he missed a few games here and there, each of us knew and followed his rule that we couldn’t get married on a home game day! We will never forget tailgating with mom and dad down by the Forestry building in the “good old days” and later in the Montlake lot. His passion for the University of Washington is captured by the fact that his three sons also graduated from the UW and he now has two granddaughters at the UW carrying on his legacy. At our dad’s request we do not plan on having a public memorial service but will likely have a public celebration of his life sometime this spring. We also ask that in lieu of flowers, remembrances in his honor be made to the Des Moines Rotary Foundation (P.O. Box 98073, Des Moines, WA 98198) or the Des Moines Legacy Foundation (P.O. Box 13582, Des Moines, WA 98198).
