Nathanael "Nate" Clark
April 28, 1994 - December 7, 2021
About Nate
Nate was born April 28th, 1994. He lived with his dad, Todd, mom, Heather and younger sister, Halle, in Canton, OH until the family moved to North Carolina when Nate and Halle were in middle school.
Nate was an old soul from childhood. In more than one parent/teacher conference the teacher mentioned he was like a little old man. He was an easy-going, awesome kid. He was a rule follower and loved a schedule and sticking to it. He was a well-rounded student that enjoyed participating in activities as well. Nate played many sports as a child, but golf became his passion from an early age when he became involved at First Tee.
Nate graduated from Clemson University in 2016 with a dual degree in Pro Golf Management and Business Administration. Throughout his time at Clemson, Nate held internships at various golf courses around the country, all of which he loved and appreciated. His last semester led to an opportunity to connect with Evolve Golf in Wilmington, NC. This internship would lead to his full-time job, doing what he loved. Nate was able to combine his love of golf and the business side of course management to grow the company significantly during his time there.
Nate remained in Wilmington, NC after graduation and had an incredible group of friends. He loved his weekends at Wrightsville Beach on a boat and of course, on a golf course.
With Nate and Halle both graduating college and settling into their careers, Todd and Heather decided to take a coaching opportunity presented to Todd in Buffalo, NY. Heather took a break from teaching, and they settled in. But it didn’t take too long, just 4 short years, when in March of 2020 they decided that they had been away from the kids long enough and decided to move back to North Carolina to be closer to their family.
Crash Description
On December 7, 2021, Nate was driving a rented 2021 Toyota Camry home from a work trip in Georgia. While traveling on I 95 through Florence County, South Carolina, traffic began to slow down ahead of Nate until he came to a complete stop behind a passenger van and a tractor trailer. While waiting for the congestion to clear, another tractor-trailer failed to realize that traffic was stopped ahead and slammed into the rear of Nate’s vehicle. Nate’s vehicle was pushed into the passenger vehicle in front of him and then both Nate and the other driver were then slammed into the rear of the tractor-trailer in front of them.
Both Nate and the driver of the other passenger vehicle died at the scene as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.
Life After the Crash
Nate’s family did not learn about the crash until the next day. The connection was finally made through the rental car company of the car that Nate was driving.
Nate’s loss is felt deeply by his friends, golf community, and his family. There were over 300 people in attendance at Nates memorial service, an incredible testament to how many lives he had touched.
The Nate Clark Memorial Golf Tournament was set up by Evolve Golf and others to raise money for scholarships for young people interested in pursuing a career like Nate's. The first tournament raised over $50,000 in in honor of Nate and all the work that he did. It was an amazing day for his family to volunteer and see so many support Nate and share stories of their time spent with him.
Nate combined his love of golf and people and was a mentor with First Tee of Greater Wilmington. Most importantly, Nate loved the Lord and had a relationship with Jesus. All that Nate was on Earth was wonderful and his family feels his absence on Earth so heavily.
The trucking company that caused Nate’s crash only had only $1 Million in coverage. That $1 million had to be divided by both wrongful death claimants as well as 3 property damage claimants.
Links
Send a Message to Nate’s Family
Memorial