Owen Clark Smoll, 94, of Shawnee, Kansas, passed peacefully on July 12, 2021, at Olathe Medical Center. He was born February 16, 1927, to A.E. and Bernice (Fuller) Smoll, in Wichita, Kansas.
Clark served his country during World War II in the Army Signal Corps in Europe. He was attached to the 301st Signal Battalion headquartered with General Patton’s Third Army in Heidelberg, Germany.
Upon returning from Germany he attended Kansas State University, graduating with honors with a degree in Engineering in 1950. After graduation he enjoyed a long career in military electrical engineering design and production. He worked for Collins Radio and General Electric, after which he transitioned to biomedical engineering in 1976, working for Litton Industries, Micron instruments, and Statham/Gould in California. Specializing in intraoperative arterial blood flow measurement, he invented and patented disposable flow probes that worked along with a state-of-the-art blood pump developed by Medtronic. This system revolutionized patient safety and survival rates for cardiac bypass surgery in the mid-1980s. In 1985 Clark was named the California Medical Device Inventor of the Year.
In 1949 he married Hazel “Hadie” Fernley in Manhattan, Kansas, and together they had three children, Jean, John and Amy. They later divorced. In 1984 he married Leonie Van Den Valentyn in California, and he gained four stepchildren, Charlene, Dan, Janise, and Diane.
Clark moved to Shawnee in 2004 and cherished his last years with his sister’s family, neighbors and church friends. He loved tinkering and worked into his mid-80s assembling atomic clocks. He was also an avid reader of spy, art and war history books, and was an excellent photographer.
Clark was predeceased by his parents, one sister, four brothers, his first wife, and his second wife. He is survived by his sister, Shirley Schilling, three children, three grandchildren, Derrick, Eleanore and Nicholas, two great-grandchildren and four stepchildren.
Clark will be buried with military honors at the Leavenworth National Cemetery, 150 Muncie Rd., Leavenworth, Kansas, at 1:30 pm, Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
Funeral Ceremony
Start Date: November 10, 2021, 1:30 pm
End Date: November 10, 2021, 12:00 am
Leavenworth National Cemetery
150 Muncie Road
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Phone: 913-758-4105
Final Resting Place
Leavenworth National Cemetery
150 Muncie Road
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Clark served his country during World War II in the Army Signal Corps in Europe. He was attached to the 301st Signal Battalion headquartered with General Patton’s Third Army in Heidelberg, Germany.
Upon returning from Germany he attended Kansas State University, graduating with honors with a degree in Engineering in 1950. After graduation he enjoyed a long career in military electrical engineering design and production. He worked for Collins Radio and General Electric, after which he transitioned to biomedical engineering in 1976, working for Litton Industries, Micron instruments, and Statham/Gould in California. Specializing in intraoperative arterial blood flow measurement, he invented and patented disposable flow probes that worked along with a state-of-the-art blood pump developed by Medtronic. This system revolutionized patient safety and survival rates for cardiac bypass surgery in the mid-1980s. In 1985 Clark was named the California Medical Device Inventor of the Year.
In 1949 he married Hazel “Hadie” Fernley in Manhattan, Kansas, and together they had three children, Jean, John and Amy. They later divorced. In 1984 he married Leonie Van Den Valentyn in California, and he gained four stepchildren, Charlene, Dan, Janise, and Diane.
Clark moved to Shawnee in 2004 and cherished his last years with his sister’s family, neighbors and church friends. He loved tinkering and worked into his mid-80s assembling atomic clocks. He was also an avid reader of spy, art and war history books, and was an excellent photographer.
Clark was predeceased by his parents, one sister, four brothers, his first wife, and his second wife. He is survived by his sister, Shirley Schilling, three children, three grandchildren, Derrick, Eleanore and Nicholas, two great-grandchildren and four stepchildren.
Clark will be buried with military honors at the Leavenworth National Cemetery, 150 Muncie Rd., Leavenworth, Kansas, at 1:30 pm, Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
Events
Funeral Ceremony
Start Date: November 10, 2021, 1:30 pm
End Date: November 10, 2021, 12:00 am
Leavenworth National Cemetery
150 Muncie Road
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Phone: 913-758-4105
Final Resting Place
Leavenworth National Cemetery
150 Muncie Road
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Guestbook
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