Lindley Edward Clark Jr.

Lindley Edward “Ed” Clark, Jr. drew his last breath on February 22, 2026 surrounded by family; 87 years after drawing his first on February 9, 1939, at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was preceded in death by his parents Lindley Clark and Sarah Clark (Ansted); his wife of 54 years Sondra Clark (Bisesi), his son Jeffrey Paul Corey, and many dear friends including Penny O’Leary, Mel Olson, Nadine and Johnny Johnson, Jim Browne, Dennis Dalseg, Terry Duncan, and many others. He is survived by his sons John Corey (Cindy), Chip Clark (Melissa), and Michael Clark; Daughter-in-law, Amy Corey; Grandchildren (Christy Corey (Clampitt); Johnny Corey; Jeffrey Corey; Madeleine Clark; Ellen Clark; Josh Clark; and Cash Clark); and Great Grandchildren (Madeline; Sadie; Freddie; Hudsyn; Gracie; and John Robert); his sisters Cynthia Clark and Suzanne Clark (Hills); along with numerous nephews, nieces, and dear friends. Growing up on North Meridian Street he was drawn to the outdoors at a young age and his favorite toy was a “gun that shot”, which led to a meticulously kept collection of firearms that his own wife only learned the extent of on September 16, 2023, when she passed.

By the time he was in St. Thomas Aquinas school he was spending his $1 a week allowance on fishing tackle – which led to sacred hours with friends and family contemplating what lurks below with anticipation while solving seemingly trivial problems of the day and extolling the virtues of fermentation. An avid reader till the end, his passion for the outdoors, adventure, and history converged when he was introduced to All Quiet on the Western Front, The Bears of Blue River, and the lives of Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and Jim Bridger. His family spent summers at Burt Lake, Michigan where he fell in love with smallmouth bass and the gear one needs to entice one’s quarry on the water or in the field. One of his mantra’s was “it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”. His friend Tom Culver once wrote that he “jingled and jangled when he walked due to the copious amounts of gear meant to handle any and all situations, comparable to a deranged sportsman emerging from Abercrombie and Fitch with a stolen credit card”. His dollar a week allowance more than kept up with inflation but if you ever purchased a “used” gun from him it was in better than new condition, included a lifetime warranty, was half the price, and “spot on.”

He attended Shortridge High School (Class of ‘57), which had a daily newspaper, where he co-authored a column called “Shortridge Out of Doors”. For a zoology class at Shortridge, students were expected to identify and know the habits of 50 birds. The teacher once had a field trip at Bacon Swamp (just outside the city limits at the time) disrupted by shotgun blasts and pellets raining down from the sky only later to learn via an article in Shortridge Out of Doors about a great place to hunt ducks, and field identification tips for discerning a female mallard from a black duck.

After high school, Ed was off to attend Dartmouth College, with a trunk full of dreams and a train ticket to Hanover, NH. In later years, he regretted not spending more time at Dartmouth, but he transferred to Indiana University and became initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity in September 1958, on the 100th anniversary of the chapter where he later became Consul (President), learned the meaning of brotherhood, and pursued fishing and hunting with his brothers throughout southern Indiana. All of his sons and one grandson are members of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Ed served his country as a First Lieutenant with the Transportation Corps in the United States Army for approximately ten years between 1962-64 which took him to Europe for the first time and corroborated that he was never a big fan of early mornings or being told what to do.

In 1966, Ed was set up on a on a blind date by friends Jack and Suzie McKown, with Sondra Lea Bisesi. While he was “pretty damn sure” after the second date, a year and 9 months later they were wed in Sondra’s living room. It was the best decision he ever made as he immediately redefined what love and family meant with Sondra and the two boys John George and Jeffrey Paul, who were 7 and 5, respectively. At 29 years of age, in 1968, he witnessed his first miracle when Christopher Edward Clark was born. They loved the other boys so much they decided to forsake their Christmas plans and have another in 1974, welcoming Michael Louis Clark.

After ten years teaching at Fall Creek Elementary School and a few fishing trips to Canada that always ended too soon, Ed saw an ad in the Wall Street Journal and convinced Sondra that they needed to buy the Maple Leaf Gift Shop and Canoe Outfitters in Nestor Falls, Ontario in 1979. Despite the fact that neither of them had any experience in the retail sector or outfitting canoe excursions for others, it’s still one of the best decisions they ever made. Despite having a unique background and life story than many of the locals who would become dear friends, Ed fit right in with his dry sense of humor, wit, and penchant for “not sweating the small stuff” unless it involved a frozen water line at which point he was even more thankful for dear friends. He was an active member of the Vacationland Association, Lion’s Club, and taught hundreds of students how to responsibly handle firearms and harvest game as a Hunter Safety instructor for the Ministry of Natural Resources. They lived in Nestor Falls on Lake Kakabikitchiwan until 2012 when they moved south to International Falls, MN.

In 1984, Ed fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams and went on a big game safari with his son Jeff to Zimbabwe “where it is always last week.” He would go twice more, to Namibia and South Africa because “you can’t put those trips off.” If he could live anywhere in the world for a year with all expenses paid it would be Southern Africa and he regretted never getting to Run with the Bulls at Pamplona.

While such a full life of 87 years still seems too short, we might find solace in the fact that on August 31, 1962 Ed was on a fishing trip near Beaver Island on Lake Michigan where tragically, 2 members of that party didn’t make it home. He was one of the lucky survivors that made it to shore and spent the night in poison ivy on an island before being rescued the next day.

To say that the Good Lord threw away the mold after Lindley E. Clark, Jr. is a tremendous understatement. He was a man of great intellect, impeccable character, a fastidious nature, a litany of “Ed’isms”, and walked gingerly to a beat that only he heard that will live on in fishing boats, around campfires, at 10 p.m. dinners, and at shooting ranges for many years to come. Rest in Peace LEC. You are loved and missed by many and we are better people for having you in our lives.

He will be laid to rest near his wife, parents, grandparents, and other family at Dale Cemetery, Connersville, Indiana. A memorial service will be held there at a later date.

Donations in his honor should be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ducks Unlimited, and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.