"font-family:">Joseph Ransom Clarke Jr., 75, of Spanish Fort, went to be with his Lord on the evening of Nov. 26, 2011. Following several months of declining health, he spent his final days surrounded by family at Covenant Hospice in Pensacola, Fla.
"font-family:">He was born and raised in Georgia, the son of Joseph Ransom Clarke Sr. and Katherine Deane Lowe. He graduated from Fort Valley High School and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
"font-family:">He proudly served in the United States Army, where he was a Senior Parachutist and Ranger in the 82nd Airborne Division. He attained the rank of Captain in the 105th Intelligence Corps in Washington, D.C.
"font-family:">After returning to civilian life he pursued a career in banking in Forest, Miss., where he remained on the board of directors of the Bank of Forest until his death. He was a former president of the Forest Rotary Club, and was a Ruling Elder of the Forest Presbyterian Church and Covenant Presbyterian Church.
"font-family:">At the time of his death he was a member of Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church in Fairhope. A longtime supporter of Christian education, he was a founding angel of Heritage Learning Center in Forest, Miss.
"font-family:">He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mildred Myers McCravey Clarke of Spanish Fort; one brother, George Clisby Clarke II, of Atlanta, Ga.; one daughter, Mary Katherine Clarke of St. Augustine, Fla.; two sons, Joseph Ransom Clarke III and Richard McCravey Clarke; one daughter-in-law, Penny Petro Clarke; and six grandchildren, Joseph Ransom Clarke IV, William Davidson McCravey Clarke, Miriam Martha Clarke, George Clisby Clarke III, Caleb Breckenridge Clarke and Phillip Petro Clarke, all of Spanish Fort.
"font-family:">Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, at 2 p.m., at the Chapel of Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home in Daphne. The Family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1 p.m. until the time of service.
"font-family:">Interment will follow at Jubilee Memorial Gardens.
"font-family:">Arrangements by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Homes and Crematory, Daphne.
