Stephen Clark, 54, of 9-1-1 Veterans, dies

By late October, cancer had so riddled his body that the founder of 9-1-1 Veterans was in almost constant agony.

But when he learned that a soldier just out of a military jail was coming home, Stephen Clark struggled out of his sickbed to join the crowd of well-wishers who greeted the soldier at a Rocky Point veterans hall.

"We have a duty to let veterans know that no matter what, they are not alone," Clark said that October night.

Clark, 54, a Suffolk police officer from Shoreham who spent the last three years of his life helping veterans regain control over their lives, died Wednesday at a Port Jefferson hospice. His wife, Terry, was by his side.

Since Clark started 9-1-1 Veterans in 2007, the organization has distributed more than $200,000 to needy veterans to help with rent and mortgage payments, car repairs, utility bills and other challenges, according to Chris Delaney, who took over much of the charity's workings as Clark's health declined. 9-1-1 Veterans doled out $18,000 in aid last month, Delaney said.

"Coming home and seeing guys he knew suffering, he was very upset that people were getting discharged and had to fend for themselves," Delaney said.

Clark, who started the charity by passing a bucket among his colleagues where he worked as a firearms instructor at the Suffolk Police Academy, eventually built a network of individuals and organizations who helped raise funds and refer needy vets. In June, MacArthur Airport raised more than $30,000 for 9-1-1 Veterans by staging a charity run on the airport grounds.

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One person helped this year was Daryl Lewis, 42, a bus driver from Freeport and 20-year Army reservist who served in Baghdad in 2003.

Lewis said after he fell behind in his car payments and homeowners insurance earlier this year, a Department of Veterans Affairs social worker referred him to Clark, who provided cash to get him caught up.

"I'd been struggling for a year to catch up, but every time I'd come up for air, I'd sink again," Lewis said. "That little push helped me so much."

Clark often said his desire to help struggling veterans grew out of his appreciation for how his 33 years of military service helped him structure his life, and his belief that ex-GIs are unfairly left to fend for themselves after discharge. He retired from the naval reserves this year with the rank of command master chief.

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"He told me this only once: That before he joined the Navy his life had gotten so low he was living out of his car," said a sister-in-law, Irene Kamps of Levittown. "He said the Navy saved his life."

Clark, who emigrated from Bracknell, England, when he was 13, joined the reserves in the 1970s. His wife had been a fellow reservist. He joined the Suffolk police force in 1987 and was named officer of the year in 1991 after pulling a person from a burning vehicle. Last month, Suffolk Executive Steve Levy presented Clark with the first-ever "Key to the County."

In addition to his wife, survivors include daughter Ashley; son John; mother and stepfather Sheila and Arthur Forster, of Beverly Hills, Fla.; and brothers Nicholas and Rory, of Florida; Brian, of North Carolina; and Stuart, of Long Island.

Viewings are scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place. The funeral is set for 10 a.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, in Rocky Point, followed by burial at Calverton National Cemetery.