David Layton Clark

David Layton Clark was born September 14, 1943 in Dallas, TX to Martha and Dick Clark. He was born on Martha's birthday. He attended John H. Reagan Elementary and graduated from W.H. Adamson High School in 1961. David always had a beautiful voice. He sang in the children's choir at Kessler Park United Methodist Church. He sang and performed in productions at Adamson. His undergraduate degree was from North Texas State University in Denton, TX (now University of North Texas) in 1965. His graduate degree in music was from Indiana State University and he had 2 years toward a PhD in music at Illinois State in Bloomington, IL. David sang in the Dallas Civic Opera 2 seasons, the Dallas Summer Musicals for 7 seasons (beginning while he was in high school), attended music camp at Interlochen, MI, for 2 summers, and sang with the Santa Fe Opera Company for 3 seasons. He auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Whenever he returned home for a visit, he sang at Kessler Park UMC. David married Marion Mohat of Denton in July 1969 (the day the first man walked on the moon!) and they lived in New Jersey their entire married life. They have two children, Christy Clark Murfitt of Andover, MA and Richard Tyler Clark of Atlanta, GA and two grandsons, Benjamin Morse Murfitt and Aaron David Murfitt. His life partner and faithful companion for the last 20 years is Tawnya Kabnick of Morristown, NJ. Her children Kim Cagle, Blake Kabnick, and David Anderson and grandchildren Alex, Carson, Layne, Reagan and Emerson all reside in NJ. David passed away March 25, 2021. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in April 2020. He spent the summer powering through chemo treatments and had surgery October 5th. A series of infections kept him in the hospital post-surgery and we moved him to home hospice Saturday, March 20, 2021. His partner Tawnya, his son Tyler and his Westie Lily were by his side in Tawnya's house in New Jersey for his final days. A memorial service for close friends and family is scheduled at noon eastern on May 8. Virtual attendees can attend via this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1QOT_8dpBbF44GXAPcsJHQ The family requests memorials be made to Adamson Alumni Association - Joe Teague Choral Fund, Dallas, TX. If you would like to honor David, we suggest that you plant a rose bush. He had a green thumb and always cultivated the most beautiful gardens. Since he has so many friends and family around the world, and so many cannot travel due to Covid considerations, we encourage you to share your memories here: pictures, video, songs - anything you'd like to share with all who knew and loved David.