Lifelong Hicksville resident William "Bill" C. Clark passed away on Monday, Feb. 7 from complications of cancer. At the time of his death, Mr. Clark was staying with family in Florida. He was 87 years old.

Mr. Clark was born in Brooklyn and moved to Old Country Road in Hicksville in 1919 at the age of 2. He attended Hicksville's Nicholai Street and junior and senior high schools before graduating in 1935. In 1942, Mr. Clark joined the United States Army Air Corps and after serving in World War II, landed his first job with Centre Island News in which he had his own weekly column called "Jottings of Yesteryear." He also worked as a foreman for Equitable Bag Company in Long Island City.

A prominent and well-known member of the Hicksville community, Mr. Clark invested endless hours with the Hicksville 350th Anniversary Committee and Hicksville Gregory Museum's 100th Anniversary Restoration. Mr. Clark acted as guide and shopkeeper for the museum and was a member of the Hicksville Historical Society. He was named the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year in 2000 and that same year received a citation from former New York Assemblyman Marc Herbst dubbing him "a man of the street" and stating that he was truly a "citizen of the new millennium."

An avid believer in memorabilia, Mr. Clark spent many years collecting information about his beloved hometown. "He was very interested in the history of Hicksville," said sister Marion Hawk of Florida. "He had an extensive collection of pictures from then and now and all kinds of knowledge in his head."

James Pavone, chairman of the board at the Gregory Museum, said Mr. Clark was "one of the greatest historians Hicksville has ever had." "He was a very strong component of the Hicksville Gregory Museum and was a wealth of information," said Pavone, adding, "[Mr. Clark] was a tremendous asset and played a big part in the community. He was a good friend who will be sorely missed."

Paul Manton, a member of the Gregory Museum's Board of Advisors, reflected on Mr. Clark's contributions to the community by stating, "Bill's memory was extraordinary in its detail and his anecdotes were delivered as though the event had been only yesterday. He knew whose farm was where, where what shop had once stood and whatever became of so and so ... Bill was a different kind of historian; the historian concerned not with great men and great events, but rather the flavor of ordinary life in bygone days."

According to Patrick Crowe, president of the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Clark was "part of the fabric of Hicksville and really embodied the spirit of Hicksville. He really took pride in Hicksville, where it was and where it was going." Crowe added, "He was a nice guy and a friend for all. You could always count on him to be there for whatever was going on."

Valerie Pakaluk, president of the Hicksville Community Council and member of the Hicksville Library's Board of Trustees, said, "Bill Clark was one in a million. I knew him all of my life since he went to school with my brothers and sisters. As I got older, I began to appreciate what his collection of postcards, pictures and memorabilia were really worth. All of us in Hicksville will miss him dearly."

In addition his to sister, Mr. Clark is survived by nephews William and Wayne Johndro; and was predeceased by his wife, Eleanor, and brother, Robert. Arrangements were made by the Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Home, located at the corner of Old Country Road and Jerusalem Avenue. Friends and relatives may visit on Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A service, conducted by Pastor Kaariainen of Trinity Lutheran, will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 14 at the Wagner Funeral Home. Interment at Pinelawn will follow.