Obituary: Whanganui skating legend Gary Clark remembered for his kindness, commitment and sense of humour

Gary Clark 'took care of everybody', stepson Brodie White says.

Gary Clark’s 50-year career in speed skating was only one part of a life with few dull moments.

The well-known Whanganui man died on February 3, aged 64, after a battle with cancer.

Partner Krystine Davies said she had known Clark since they were kids and the pair would practise together at Whanganui’s skating rink in the 1970s. Davies was an artistic skater and Clark a speed skater.

The link-up happened after Clark had been at the facility alone and crashed into a pylon, leaving him with multiple injuries.

“After that, there was a policy that no one was allowed to train on their own,” Davies said.

“We used to go there at 6am, before school, for quite a while.”

Clark went on to win more than 100 New Zealand and Oceania speed skating titles and spent decades coaching at all levels.

Speaking to the Chronicle in 2023, he said he regretted not knocking on Davies’ door and asking her on a date when they were teenagers.

“I was so nervous when I got there that I threw up in the garden,” he said.

“I chickened out when I should have been brave.”

They eventually got together in the early 2000s and were inseparable until his death.

Gary Clark and Krystine Davies at Whanganui's Jubilee Stadium in 2010. Photo / NZME

Clark coached Davies to a World Masters marathon speed skating title in Italy in 2017, and as a pair they won national championships in artistic skating.

Speaking at Clark’s funeral, Wanganui Roller Sports president Steven Brennan said Clark had been involved in every aspect of the club.

The funeral, at Whanganui’s Eulogy Lounge, was attended by about 500 people.

“People like Gary are the lifeblood of clubs like ours,” Brennan said.

“They bring all the enthusiasm for their sport and people are drawn to it.”

He said the Whanganui team, for the first time, won the “much-coveted” Unity Trophy at this year’s New Zealand Road and Flat Track Championships and Marathon.

“I’m so happy he got to hold it. It was well deserved.”

Clark was a life member of Wanganui Roller Sports Incorporated.

He never took a sick day from school because that meant his parents would have stopped him from going to skate training, Brennan said.

One of Clark’s speed skating proteges, Whanganui’s Chase Morpeth, now races in Germany.

Speaking at the funeral via video, Morpeth said Clark had coached him almost every day and they became great friends.

He said Clark used to “drive me up the wall” during training but, as he got older, he realised he was getting valuable lessons.

“Gary was teaching me about life skills, how to avoid problems and how to pass through adversity.

“I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

Gary Clark won more than 100 New Zealand and Oceania speed skating titles.

Clark is survived by two older sisters, Jackie Dowman and Marilyn Clark.

At the funeral, Dowman said she and her brother joined Whanganui’s skating club in 1969.

“I used to follow him around the rink with band-aids, but it didn’t take long before he was racing along,” she said.

“He would help me with my maths homework and I would ask him to fill out the answers on my homework sheet, but there was no way – ‘I’ll teach you how to do it'.

“He loved the challenge”.

Dowman said Clark was a hard worker with a heart of gold.

“He loved his family and Krystine was his world.”

Clark ran pest control company Garyz Services for almost 40 years.

In 2023, he said he had a love for insects and creepy crawlies all his life.

“My mother took great delight in telling a story about when I was a youngster – before my memory – when she lifted up my pillow and found slugs, snails, slaters, spiders, earwigs, anything I could pick up.

“Apparently, I said, ‘They are all my friends’.”

Davies said he was dedicated to the business and it would continue to operate.

Clark was an avid golfer at the Castlecliff club and a member of its Cavaliers group.

Daughter-in-law Hazel White said his grandson, Connor, played a round with Clark’s teammates in his honour.

“They went back to the clubhouse afterwards and everyone around them was remembering Gary and saying nice things about him, not knowing his grandson was right there,” she said.

“Little things like that show how much he meant to people.”

In the Unity Trophy-winning team were Davies, Clark’s stepdaughter, Melissa Allen, and his granddaughter, Mackenzie Allen.

Davies said Clark passed on his prized No 66 to Mackenzie and winning the trophy with three generations of skaters from his family was one of his proudest moments.

Even during his cancer treatment, he did everything in his power to attend the club’s learn-to-skate sessions, she said.

Gary Clark and granddaughter Mackenzie Allen after the Whanganui skating team won the Unity Trophy at this year's national championships.

“I would call Melissa at lunchtime and tell her to be on standby because Gary was a write-off, but by 6pm he was up and running and he was there.

“There weren’t many sessions he missed. It was so important to him.

“On behalf of myself and the entire family, I’d like to thank those who attended the funeral and celebrated Gary’s life and everyone who is supporting us through this time of grief with baking, flowers, meals and messages of support.

“It means a massive amount.”

Stepson Brodie White said Clark was “a beautiful man”.

“Gary took care of everybody. You could rely on him.”

Clark promised to tell Connor a joke about a motorcycle when he turned 18, White said.

“We were scratching our heads wondering what it was about, then one of Gary’s nephews remembered it – ‘Yep, it’s definitely R18′.

“That was Gary, though. Constant jokes, constant laughter, all delivered in his booming baritone.

“We’ll tell Connor that joke on his behalf.”

Clark leaves behind two sons, five stepdaughters, a stepson and 13 grandchildren.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.