Donald Ray Clark

Donald Ray Clark, age 91, passed away on March 6, 2026, just ten days before his 92nd birthday. Born on March 16, 1934, in Dillard, Oklahoma, he was the son of Burley Vernon and Lovie Mae Clark. He married Merlene Horton, the love of his life, on September 16, 1951, and graduated from Wilson High School in 1952.

At the age of nine, during an outdoor revival, Donald gave his life to Jesus Christ and was baptized at First Baptist Church in Wilson. As a young teenager at Falls Creek, he felt God’s call to preach, later answering that call publicly. While working in the oil fields of Tatum, New Mexico, in 1957, he rededicated his life to Christ and fully surrendered to the ministry. He was licensed to preach that same year and ordained in 1958 at Rexroat Baptist Church in Wilson, where he was serving as pastor.

A Southern Baptist pastor, missionary, and evangelist for more than 69 years, Donald graduated from Murray State College in 1959 and Oklahoma Baptist University in 1961 while pastoring. He began studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1962. He and Merlene lived in various parts of Oklahoma and California, and briefly in Sitka, Alaska. Together they founded Don Clark Ministries and conducted evangelistic meetings across Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Scotland, as well as in 15 states. Donald also hosted the weekly radio program “A Moment with the Book” on KQCV in Oklahoma and KVSO in Alaska. He remained faithful in ministry until the end of his life, looking forward to the words “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Merlene Clark, his daughter-in-law Lisa K. Clark, and his beloved granddaughter Candace Anderson Ousley. Donald is survived by his children James Clark (Jackie), Joey Clark, Karen Anderson (Mike), Paul Clark (Brenda), and Larissa Clark, along with a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and dear friends.