Clark had 'incredible passion' for Vanderhoof, mayor says

June Clark is being remembered by the mayor of Vanderhoof as someone who was both exceptionally capable and with a strong passion for her community.

"Her deep commitment for Vanderhoof was just so there," Gerry Thiessen said Wednesday.

Clark died Friday in a three-vehicle collision on Highway 16 just east of the community of 4,500. Her husband, Bob, was transported to Vancouver General Hospital with serious injuries but is expected to survive.

Thiessen likened her loss to a "punch in the stomach."

"It just aches. When you live in a close, small community...it really hurts when there is a major tragedy like this."

Clark had both a strong business sense and an ability to understand an issue and the workings of a community, according to Thiessen. That, combined with an "incredible passion for the town of Vanderhoof," made her both a formidable force in advancing causes on behalf of the town and a go-to source for advice.

"I didn't always agree with her but when I needed kind of a good, thoughtful process, she was always available for a phone call and to sit down and talk to her," Thiessen said.

As recently as last week, Thiessen said he had met with Clark over coffee and to talk "about a lot of little things in Vanderhoof."

Clark held multiple degrees - a bachelor of religious education from Briercrest Bible College in Caronport, Saskatchewan, a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Waterloo, and a masters degree in leadership and administration, also from Briercrest.

Other than a brief few years in Caronport, where she was the vice president for enrollment at Briercrest and where Bob was the town's mayor, they had lived most of their years in Vanderhoof.

Upon returning, Clark was a member of the College of New Caledonia board of directors from July 2014 to July 2016 and Thiessen said she was instrumental in getting a new CNC campus in Vanderhoof.

"She was certainly one of our champions," Clark said.