Walter Clark Wrye III, 83, of Woodstock, Georgia, passed away September 10, 2026.  Clark was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Walter Clark Wrye Jr, "Ted", and Gratia Adams Wrye, "Gigi".  He grew up in Duxbury, Massachusetts and loved New England.

After attending Duxbury High School and later graduating from Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, Clark served four years in the U.S. Army, stationed mostly in Germany.  While working at J.L. Hudson Co. in Detroit, he met his future wife, Marise Kay Potter, "Marcie".  Clark and Marcie married during the 1967 Detroit riots and shared 59 years together.   In the early 1970s, he brought her back to New England, where they put down roots in Plymouth, Massachusetts for 25 years, before retiring to Lincoln, New Hampshire for an additional 25 years.

For 29 years, Clark was a very successful pharmaceutical representative with Marion Laboratories, helping introduce OsCal, Pavabid, Nitro-bid, Gaviscon, Silvadene, Allegra, Spirocare and many other life-improving products, first in Detroit, and later in Boston and greater New England.  The work suited his gift for building and sustaining meaningful relationships with people from all backgrounds and walks of life.  He was engaging, sharp-witted and an unforgettable people person.

Clark loved boats, the ocean and cars.  In elementary school, he counted worms for local fishermen at the boatyard.  In middle school, he built his own powerboat.  In high school, he worked at Duxbury Marine while renovating his first automobile, a Ford Model A, into a fun road-and-beach vehicle.  In the car city of Detroit, he enjoyed muscle cars and owned multiple Ford Mustangs.  At the same time, he and Marcie bought their first of three small trailerable sailboats and began sailboat racing.  They moved up to keelboats after joining Lake Shore Sail Club, racing and cruising on Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie.  They were sailing the day before Marcie gave birth to their first son, and a week after the birth of their second.  Over the next 30 years, they would own four more keelboats, with the latter ones all named ROMANCE.

Once back in New England, Clark escaped land each summer with his family, sailing up and down the coast going as far as Long Island, New York, to Canada's St John's River, particularly enjoying Buzzards Bay and Martha's Vineyard.  He helped create the Plymouth Bay PHRF sailboat racing fleet and won many races with his growing family and friends.  He raced to Bermuda twice and sailed in the Virgin Islands multiple times, later keeping his boat in the Caribbean for two seasons.  Recognizing that a powerboat offered weather independence, he and Marcie made the switch and began cruising coastal Maine extensively each summer, enjoying an unhurried pace in quiet waters.  They also navigated to North Carolina and completed the Mini Loop through New York's canal system to Lake Ontario, Montreal and Lake Champlain.  Clark was active in several yacht clubs, including Plymouth Yacht Club where he served as its Commodore during its Centennial celebration, Blue Water Sailing Club where he was a Governor, Beverly Yacht Club and Downeast Yacht Club.

Winters belonged to the mountains.  When the children were young, they pushed to try snow skiing, rekindling in Clark a love of that sport.  He even took up snowboarding in his 60s and 70s.  Winter weekends and vacation weeks were spent exploring mountains throughout New England, and later, out west and Canada.  Upon retirement, he and Marcie settled at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, savoring uncrowded midweek runs and free ski passes by working at the mountain.  He would dutifully wake at the crack of dawn each day to keep the driveway free of snow.

Clark relished working in Loon's rental shop and day lodge for over 25 years.  He set an example for the younger generation with his impeccable work ethic and was formally recognized multiple times for outstanding customer service.  Many families sought him out as they returned year after year.  He also served on Lincoln's town budget committee and was instrumental in updating town zoning laws to reflect changing times.

Later in retirement, he and Marcie embraced every opportunity to travel.  They took up cycling, riding throughout New Hampshire, Georgia and Florida.  At age 79, he completed RAGBRAI, the week-long annual bicycle ride across Iowa.  They skied in Japan and unexpectedly experienced its 2011 earthquake and tsunami.  They toured England, Europe, and Southeast Asia, visited both Alaska and Hawaii, and drove
multiple times across the country.

In 2005, Clark had an almost complete heart blockage, followed three years later by a double brain aneurysm that had a survival rate at that time of 10 percent.  His family feels incredibly blessed that he came through relatively unscathed and was given more than 20 additional years of quality life.  In those years, he was proud to be involved with his granddaughters, with one now working in prosthetics and orthotics and the other as an emergency room nurse.  He continued to positively impact many people until vascular dementia took away his sharp mind in the final months.

Clark is survived by his wife Marcie, son Chip of Atlantic Beach, Florida, son Bill and wife Amanda of Acworth, Georgia, granddaughters Gwenevere and Analiese, sister Gratia Hamilton of Richmond, Virginia, and numerous nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his nephew Herbert Hamilton.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations in Clark's memory to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, Dementia Society of America, or a Shriners Children's hospital.

A private family service will be held at a later date.