Samuel Ladd Clark, 22 May 1947- 14 Sep 2007
Sep 15th, 2007 by Ruth Stephens
My uncle Ladd died last night:
Born in Fort Worth, Texas to Floyd Thomas Clark and Mamie Inez Carr, Ladd (as he was known to family and friends) grew up in Fort Worth and lived most of his life in Texas. Plagued by diabetes since early childhood, he was his own man and lived his life on his terms. Active in rodeo as a young man, Ladd suffered numerous injuries from bronco riding. He was also a skilled carpenter and built his own home near Johnson City, Texas.
But his true calling was that of a saddle-maker. He had a shop in Fort Worth many years ago, and at the time of his death owned Ladd Clark’s Saddles and Cowboy Gear, in downtown Boyd, Texas.
The Wise County Messenger interviewed Ladd this past June: “Clark fits the form of the classic cowboy. He’s tall and lean with a thick gray mustache. Intense eyes of amber and steel blue light up when he talks about his craft.”
Each saddle was lovingly made entirely by hand, a dying art in this day of computer-automated manufacturing. Every year, Ladd set up shop at the Fort Worth Stock Show to showcase his talents.
Ladd was a unique man and made many friends where ever he went, and will be missed.
[...] Uncle Ladd was an eccentric and wonderful man. A brittle diabetic since early childhood, he still managed to live his own life and do things his way. As a young man, he was a bareback bronc rider, and as such took numerous trips to the hospital! He was also a gifted and talented craftsman, an artist really, and owned his own leather business. He made saddles, wallets, belts…everything by hand. This was his life’s work. [...]
[...] also stopped by the gravesite of my Uncle Ladd, who died last September. I was very pleased to see that his permanent headstone is now in place. [...]