1st Sgt. Toby Lynn Clark of Minden, Nevada, and a proud veteran of the United States Army, passed away on Sunday March 5th in the presence of his family.
The son of Jacqueline and George Clark, Toby was born in Inglewood, California on August 13, 1937. At age 5, he was enrolled at Harding Military Academy in Glendora, California. After finishing military academy and with a strong sense of patriotic duty, Toby entered active military duty illegally at 15 years old under a fake name. He was discovered to have illegally entered the military after a parachuting accident 6 months later. He was sent home to Los Angeles to complete high school and re-enrolled into the military. Toby was a highly decorated veteran, serving as an Airborne Ranger of the 101st Division. Toby also served all over the world, including being a combat medic during the Vietnam War. He earned 3 Purple Hearts, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Bronze Stars and accomplished 172 parachute combat jumps. During the majority of his military career, he was married to Helen, and they had three children, Carlyn, Alison and Tim.
Toby continued to stay busy after he retired from 35 years of service in the United States Army in 1986. He started a family with his wife Traci and their children, Taylor, Trevor, Tristan, Tanner, Travis. At this point, he began to teach JROTC in Los Angeles, California, as well as Incline High School in 1990. He retired after a few years of teaching and began working for the United State Postal Service. After 5 years at the USPS, he decided to be a full time stay at
home father to 5 of his children still living at home. During this time of post retirement, Toby trained in marathons, became a bee farmer, raised many chickens, enjoyed growing a wide variety of plants and vegetables, completed his bachelor’s degree and read every book imaginable. He was a proud and supportive father to his children and never hesitated to brag about them. He was a devoted husband to his wife Traci of 38 years and enjoyed spoiling her with handwritten notes, fresh cut flowers from his garden and treated every day like it was Valentine’s Day.
He is left in the hearts of his children and his beloved wife, Traci. He is also remembered in the hearts of his 20 grand children, many great grandchildren, extended family members and nearly everyone in town. Toby made a friend wherever he went, always had a story to tell and he will be dearly missed by all.
He will be buried with full military honors with an open to the public service on March 31, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada.