Rick Clark:
CLASS OF 1969
Foothill High SchoolClass of 1969
Sacramento, CA
American River Junior CollegeClass of 1972
Carmichael, CA
Foothill Farms Junior High SchoolClass of 1966
Sacramento, CA
Winterstien SchoolClass of 1962
Sacramento, CA
Vista Mar SchoolClass of 1962
Daly city, CA
Rick's Story
Life
After high school went to college and then law school. Law school wasn't my cup of tea. I married my high school sweetheart and as much as I would like to tell you that we're still married, we aren't. Things happen. We both remarried and I've been with my current wife for 40 years. My ex-wife the former Ruthanne Yakaitis passed away July 11, 2014 of a massive heart attack.
Let's see, as far as work goes, I worked in a couple of service stations, a machine shop, a restaurant, several shoe stores, I became a corporate exec for one shoe company. Opened up a book store. Closed it and went back to work in the shoe business.
Took a year off and opened a video store. Sold it and opened a detective agency. Sold it and did text processing for depositions and trials. Did some bountyhunting for about nine years. Opened a home detention company. Sold it and took six years off. Opened a cutlery store and ran it for four years.
Sold it 2/14/00. Current status retired. In 2002 I broke my neck and was paralyzed on the left side of my body. I had neurosurgery to repair the break, and with three years of rehab regained most of the use of my left arm hand and leg. I still walk with a cane off and on. Later that year I had two heart attacks. I have four stents in my heart and I've had a five-way bypass surgery. The next year wasn't much better. I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Not my first rodeo with cancer either. I've had lympho-epithileoma, melanoma basil cell and squamous cell carcinoma over the last thirty years. Well, in November 2015 I had another cardiac event that led to a fifth stent in my heart and more rehab. I now have 118 pieces of metal in my body. I should rattle when I walk.
For the prostate cancer I went through lupron depot to shrink the prostate and brachytherapy (radioactive seed implants 103 of them). I've had four recurrances. I've had 110 surgeries in the last thirty years. My wife says I'm a dead man walking.
Right now, I feel better than I have in years.
Since I'm retired, I do a lot of traveling. Since 2000 I've been to Hawaii three times, Mexico several times, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacuo, Belize, Guatemala, New Orleans, New York four times, Boston twice, Martha's Vineyard, Nova Scotia, Maine, Rhode Island, Calgary, Banff, Victoria, Washington DC, Gettysburg, Penn.; Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Sacramento a dozen times; Las Vegas a dozen times; Los Angeles; Reno several times; Alaska twice, Panama Canal twice, Costa Rica twice, Miami, Quebec, Roatan, Aruba, and many more.
In May 2008 I was in London for about a week then Copenhagen, Warnemunde, Germany; Stockholm; Helsinki; Tallinn, Estonia; and St. Petersburg, Russia. When we were in school who would have dreamed that one day we could even be allowed to go to Russia?
In October 2009, I went to Rome for four days and then off to Spain. Been to Spain four times so far and will be there again in November. We went to Barcelona, Miorca, and Malaga. Then to the Canary Islands, Bermuda and finish up in New York.
In 2010 it was back to the Caribbean. 2011 we went to Hawaii. 2013 we went through the Panama Canal.
In 2014 we went back to Spain.
Getting my traveling in while I can. I leave for Hawaii in two weeks. In the last year I've been to Greece, Italy, Sicily, Spain, France, Gibralter, Be...Expand for more
rmuda, the Bahamas, Las Vegas, Mexico and I'm going to try and get back to Reno this summer. Vegas again in September and Rome in November.
What don't kill ya makes ya stronger. The guy that said that sort of knew what he was talking about. The one thing about having cancer that some of you might not understand is that it is truely a blessing. It has forced me to face my own mortality and I live each day fully as if it was my last. I'm happy with my life. And wish the same for all of you (not the cancer) but the happiness.
This year 2015 we went back to Vegas for the NASCAR races in March. Then in April and May we took a 28-day cruise and went Houston and saw the most beautiful electrical storm I've ever seen. Then we went to Columbia, through the Panama Canal, Puntaranes, Costa Rica, Hutalco, Mexico, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, San Francisco, Astoria, Seattle, Victoria twice, Ketchican, Skagway, Yukon, Juneau, Hoonah, and back to Seattle and home. It was a good time.
In July my wife and I went to Reno and met up with Jack Porter and Jeff Park and their wives. Spent several days wandering around Seattle. It was a good time.
In September we went to Oregon where I race my dune buggy in a short-course off-road race. I know, what is an old crippled guy doing racing? It is fun. I do one race a year. So far my best finish is second. Last year I split my fuel cell and spilled 15 gallons of gas all over the track and the pits. It didn't catch fire, so I was lucky there. After this latest heart surgery, my wife wants me to sell the race car and call it done. The doctor is of mixed opinion on it, so it is wait and see. My best friend wants me to sell the car and buy an old cruiser to do Hot August Nights in. That has some possibilities. Either way, I will be in Reno for Hot August nights this year. The wife has finally informed me that my racing days are done. So I will put the race car up for sale and start looking for that cruiser.
Well, October changed my life, literally. I had my third heart attack, so the wife tells me I'm done racing. So I put the car up for sale along with all of the racing accessories. I will miss it, but that is how life goes. I had fun while it lasted and I would like to thank Jack Porter and Jeff Park for helping me out.
This year it will be back to Vegas, then off to Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Gibralter, France and the Azores.
Also Victoria for a week and Hot August Nights in Reno for a week.
2018, went to Nascar races in Vegas twice. Hawaii, Reno again, Rome, Spain and St. Marteen. I don't feel young anymore, but I'm living a great life. I wish the same for everyone.
On Sunday afternoon at 4:30 pm, my wife of 42 years passed away from kidney cancer, She spent eight months fighting and dealing with side-effects from the chemo and the immuno-therapy, She is at peace now. The funeral was the usual sad affair, with one exception: Her last words to me were signing the Witch Doctor Song, So that song was played at the end of her funeral, Then I took everyone out for lunch and drinks to celebrate her life in a happier surroundings. The latest update for me would be that in February my toe was amputated. Then in MARCH they amputated my left foot and leg in a two stage process. I have had 171 surgeries since 1987. So this is just a bump in the road.
Be happy everyone,
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