A birthday goodbye: Family, friends mourn Richard Clark, one of 3 killed in spree shooting
Andrew Martin gathered with other family and friends of Richard Clark to celebrate what would have been his 63rd birthday, 20 days after his cousin died.
"I thank the Lord for giving us 62 years of this great individual, this great man — a simple man with simple ways," said Martin said of Clark, one of the three people killed in a shooting spree across Memphis in early September.
Martin was among the many family, friends and neighbors who were at St. Andrew AME Church Tuesday afternoon to remember Clark. The memorial took place on what would have been Clark's 63rd birthday.
"He wasn't just victim number two," Aubrey Miller, one of Clark's nephews, told The Commercial Appeal before the service. "He had a name. He had a family. He had relatives, we are a close-knit family."
Clark grew up and stayed in what Miller referred to as simply "the house." It was a family home near South Memphis that Clark lived his whole life, and a house that has been a location for the family to grieve together since his death.
Even though Clark was technically Miller's uncle, Miller said the age gap — about 9 years for him and less for his older siblings — made them closer to brothers. At one point, everyone was living in the family house together. Miller attributes that time, along with the litany of gatherings there, as foundational to the family bond they share.
"I was a little kid then, I was in elementary school, but I remember us all being there," he said. "It was my aunts, her daughter, my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters, both of my uncles and my grandparents. It was just like one family and we've always called that house home. [Being in that home] instilled morals and values of family and friendship, that's what we were accustomed to in that household. That's what kind of molded us to where we are now."
That close family unit was part of the reason Miller wanted to tell his two sons about Clark's death in person. Both of them play football, with his older a senior at Jackson State University in Mississippi and younger a senior at Whitehaven High School.
Miller was preparing to file a missing persons report since he had not heard from Clark when his brother heard the news from detectives. Clark died Sept. 7, one of three people killed in what police described as a shooting spree that locked down Memphis.
A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Ezekiel Kelly, 19, charging him with three counts of first-degree murder and a 23 other crimes.
"My youngest son was at practice and I was out running some errands, but normally I'm at practice on the field," Miller said. "I told the head coach to let me know as soon as they get through because I didn't want him to see it from anyone else without me talking to him first."
His older son had just arrived in Memphis for the Southern Heritage Classic when Miller called the coaches and requested to meet them at the hotel the team was staying at.
"They were just kind of in disbelief. They were kind of numb," he said. "One of my sons is 17 and the other is 23. This kid is almost the same age as both of my kids. I wanted to know what could have possibly gone through his mind to make him do something so tragic, what could he possibly be thinking?"
Clark had plans to travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to watch Miller's oldest son play in a game against Grambling State. It would have been his first time attending a JSU home game, but he was killed 10 days before the game.
At the memorial service, Kenneth Todd, one of Clark's friends and fellow churchgoer, recalled memories of growing up at St. Andrew together, and often being mistaken for one another. He had been planning to visit Clark, but never had the chance before he was killed.
"I was at another friend's house and Richard called me and told me he was in the neighborhood," Todd said. "He said he was going to stop by, but I told him I would be back later that evening and he told me he would get back with me later. Time got away from me and I never got the opportunity to get that visit from him. Talk to your people today. Visit your people today. Never put off tomorrow what you can do today because you may never get the chance tomorrow. To my friend, I want to say happy birthday."
Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Family and friends remember man killed in spree shooting
