Hulda Clark
Dr. Hulda Regehr Clark passed away on Thursday, September 3, 2009, at the age of 80, at the home of her son, Geoffrey, and his family, in Chula Vista, CA. She was born on October 18, 1928 in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada, the daughter of Jacob and Maria Regehr, and the sister of Jacob, Henry, Willie, Irma, Edna and Leo.
She was known in her family for her intellect and hunting skills, but was discriminated against at school because her parents were immigrants and her first language was Low German. She earned her bachelor’s degree, Magnum Cum Laude, in 1950, and a master’s degree with High Honors from the University of Saskatchewan. She studied for two years at McGill University, and then earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1958.
She was married to John Burt Clark from 1956 to 1965, during which time she started her family and, as an entrepreneur, invented and patented Pink Puff, and wrote and copyrighted The Three Owls, a reading method for children without middle-class European backgrounds. She began her scientific career in 1965 researching the biochemistry of cell ion channels, especially their response to alcoholism, at Indiana University, Bloomington, with Alfred Strickholm.
Her impulse toward self-help and practical application led her to establish a nutritional consulting practice in the late 1960’s as a complement to her university research. When her Federal research funds were eliminated after the recession of 1974 she left the university, expanded her consulting practice, and established an independent research program based on her patient outcomes. Consulting and independent research on all aspects of human disease, especially cancer, was the focus of her life thereafter; she published seven books describing her findings and how ordinary people could use them to improve their health, and she established a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, where she treated patients, conducted research, and trained others in her methods. Her observations, conclusions, and methods were and are controversial and attracted lawsuits and unwanted attention from government regulators, which handicapped her work. Despite threats and intimidation, her conviction, optimism and universally forgiving outlook allowed her to pursue her clinical practice and research without fear until she was 79.
She is survived by her three sons, Geoffrey Allen Clark, married to Charlotte Scullin Clark, Douglas Burt Walcerz, married to Elba Ivette Rohena, and Robert John Clark, married to Jane Templeton Clark, her three siblings, Edna Bernstein, Irma Gawboy, and Leo Regehr, and seven grandchildren.