Clark, widow of prominent LV businessman, dies

Monday, April 21, 2003 | 8:53 a.m.

If there was a Las Vegas Catholic church that needed a new building, a stray animal that needed a home or a child who required special education, Bernice Clark was never too far away to help.

And she was hard to say no to while raising funds for worthy causes.

"My mother had a certain demeanor -- perky and cute -- and a great deal of charm," said Joann Callahan of Las Vegas. "She inspired others to help."

Bernice Alice Gambill Clark, Miss Helldorado of 1938 and widow of the late Pat Clark Sr., founder of Pat Clark Pontiac and Nevada Beverage Co., died Thursday in Las Vegas. She jealously guarded her age. Her dying request to her children was that her birth date not be published in her obituary.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 65 years were to be held today at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church.

For many years the Clarks helped sponsor Helldorado Days, a popular annual parade-carnival-rodeo that began in 1934 and ended in 1997 amid financial woes.

"Bernice never wanted to play on the fact that she was a former Helldorado queen because she was not the type to go around and brag about such things," said Robert Keck, director of the Helldorado Committee, which is trying to revive the festival. "She was such a giving and caring lady."

Clark's passing comes two weeks before the May 3 Helldorado Reunion barbecue at Elks Lodge 1468 on West Charleston Boulevard. It's the first event in an effort to resurrect the extravaganza the Clarks helped make internationally famous.

The Clarks also were important in the growth of the local Catholic church. They donated money -- and Bernice raised additional funds -- to build the first Catholic elementary school in Las Vegas, St. Joseph's.

They also raised money to construct buildings at St. Anne and Our Lady of Las Vegas, where Bernice voluntarily taught special ed students and was a member of the Court of Ave Maria. She also volunteered to help teach special education students at Howard Wasden Elementary on Palomino Lane.

Born in Chicago, she was the only child of labor organizer Tom Gambill and the former Johanna Lemke. Raised in Indiana, Bernice went to high school at St. Mary's near the University of Notre Dame at South Bend.

Bernice graduated from UCLA with a degree in psychiatry. She came to Las Vegas in 1938 at the urging of her mother and stepfather, who at the time operated Boulder Drug on Fremont Street.

That year, Bernice won the Miss Helldorado crown and caught the eye of Pat Clark, whom she married a year later.

He would go on to serve as a city commissioner of the 1940s. In 1942, the Clarks founded Pat Clark Pontiac at Second Street and Ogden Avenue. The dealership moved to 16th and Fremont streets in 1958 and to its present location of 2575 E. Sahara Avenue in 1969.

The couple founded Nevada Beverage in the garage of their home on Third Street.

The Clarks were married for 56 years until his death in 1995.

Bernice Clark was a member of the PTA, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, American Cancer Society and the American Kennel Club.

In addition to her daughter, Clark is survived by two other daughters, Barbara Klassen of Las Vegas and Mary Houston of Central, Utah; a son, Pat Clark of Las Vegas; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

The family said donations can be made in Clark's memory to the Help them Walk Again Foundation at 5300 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas 89102, or Best Friends Animal Sanctuary at 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741.