Obituary

Clark David Adkins, 60, of Charleston, West Virginia, passed away on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at CAMC Memorial Hospital. Clark’s passing came after an unexpected cardiac event on February 21, 2024.

Clark was born on August 5, 1963, while his family was visiting our ancestorial home of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Thanks to this stroke of good timing, Clark would be delivered by Dr. Hand like his father, brother, and sister before him.

This obituary was nearly written 58 years ago. At the age of two, Clark found himself at the bottom of a pond, only to be rescued and revived by his quick-thinking father, Howard. The family would later move to Huntington, West Virginia, where Clark would spend the majority of his “formative” years. He grew up, like many middle-class kids of the time, avoiding trouble, riding bikes, and occasionally finding himself trapped in the foundation of Wendy’s, again only to be rescued by Howard. Baseball was an early passion of Clark’s. He played for Huntington High School, where the biggest highlight of his career came after some inattention required him to field a fly ball with his hat.

Clark’s big-league dreams would end at Huntington High School. He attended Marshall University, where he not only pursued a career in medicine but also his future wife, Robin. After several months, Robin told Clark that she “wanted to be friends,” to which Clark infamously replied, “I have enough friends” and that she should get out of his car. Clark was persistent and Robin never lost interest, as indicated by the Garfield window decoration that Clark gifted her remaining on her Twin Towers West window at Marshall. Thanks to fate and a simple mix up from Clark’s mother, Dorothy, Robin and Clark would find each other once again. They were eventually married at Cross Lanes Bible Church on June 16, 1990.

Clark graduated magna cum laude from Marshall University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He would later complete medical school at Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in 1989. He graduated medical school near the top of his class, earning him a position in the most prestigious medical honor society: Alpha Omega Alpha. After medical school, he completed his training in Orthopedic Surgery at one of the most advanced medical centers in the world, Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota. At Mayo Clinic, Clark received world class training. There, he was able to develop and hone his skills, making him an excellent surgeon.

In 1994, Clark returned home to West Virginia, where he served the people faithfully as an orthopedic surgeon. Clark performed over 10,000 operations in his nearly 30-year career. Clark attracted patients with complex pathologies, whom were running out of options and places to turn. He genuinely cared about each and every one of his patients; giving everything he could to provide them a better life.

Clark’s dedication to his patients was second only to his family, which he and Robin began building in 1993 with their eldest son, David. This was followed by Johnathan in 1995, and Benjamin in 2001. Clark truly was the ideal father: loving, supportive, available and passionate. Despite a busy schedule as a surgeon, Clark almost never missed a sporting event, band performance, or school function. Similarly, he was always there when someone needed help with homework or needed a paper edited. Beyond work, Clark proved to be an endless source of laughter and fun, as all family vacations, events, and holidays ran through Clark.

Clark was very much the rock on which the Adkins family flourished and grew. David and Johnathan were married in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Fast travel to November 1, 2023, where Clark would proudly welcome his first grandchild, Jordan David Adkins. While Clark’s time with his family was tragically cut short, no one will ever be able to question the love that Clark felt for each and every one of them.

We would like to thank Chris, Ann, and Emma Grose for not only their incredible friendship, but also their role in managing the emergency on February 21. We would also like to thank the first responders, nurses, and doctors whom participated in Clark’s care and helped our family navigate this crisis. The outpouring of love and support from the community has helped us weather this most difficult storm.

Clark was preceded in death by his nephew, Logan Boone.

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Robin Adkins; three sons, David (Alyssa), Johnathan (Janie), and Benjamin (girlfriend, Elaine Lo); grandchild, Jordan Adkins; parents, Howard and Dorothy Adkins, and siblings, Gail Boone and Steve (Annie) Adkins. Also surviving are nieces and nephews, Thomas Boone, Stephanie (Dan) Boone Mosher, Will (Sydney) Simmons, Bryce Simmons, Eliza Adkins, and Duane Adkins; father and mother-in-law, Robert and Wanda Simmons, and brother and sister-in-law, Steve (Phenia) Simmons.

Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 23, 2024, in the sanctuary of Charleston Baptist Temple, 209 Morris Street, Charleston, West Virginia, with a reception following. Dr. Jim Hewitt will officiate.

Visitation will be held prior to the service, beginning at 11:00 a.m., in the sanctuary at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to WV Health Right or the Marshall University Foundation for the Dr. Clark Adkins Scholarship to Linda Holmes, MUMC, 1600 Medical Center Drive, Huntington, WV 25701 or on-line at https://give.marshall.edu/project/26398/donate?des_id=225480 .

Condolences may be sent to Dr. Adkins’ family at www.barlowbonsall.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.