Gary M. Clark

Sheriff of Caldwell County

2002-2007

1959-2007

Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark, 47, died Friday, February 2, 2007 after battling pancreatic cancer, which he was diagnosed with only in December 2006. He had been in the hospital for just over a week.

Mountain Grove Baptist Church, which holds more than 1,000 people, was packed with grieving residents and officers.

The funeral ended with a procession that stretched more than a mile as it made its way through town with fire trucks and police cars to Blue Ridge Memorial Park near Lenoir. 

The sheriff was given a 21 gun salute at the cemetery, and TAPS was played in the distance as his family was presented with the American flag that had covered his coffin.

Mourners said Clark will be remembered not only as a law enforcement officer, but also as a friend to so many.  

His death was described as a loss for the community, for Caldwell County and most of all for his family.  

Many also paid their respects to the sheriff on Monday during a six-hour long visitation at the same church where the funeral was held.

 Clark leaves behind a wife and two daughters.