DUE WEST - Dr. Robert Smith Clarke, Jr., 92, of Due West, specialist in Internal Medicine, died July 5, 2013 in Abbeville. He served his nation in World War II as a combat marine and continued serving the people of Kentucky and South Carolina for more than half a century as a family physician, college physician, and cardiologist. The longtime Due West, Erskine College and Abbeville Memorial Hospital physician was town and college doctor from 1961-92 and medical director of the Abbeville Nursing Home and part-time practitioner at Savannah Lakes Village until 2003. He was on the original staff of the Abbeville Memorial Hospital and served cardiology patients from a wide geographic area. Dr. Clarke, son of the late Robert S. and Elizabeth Ione "Bessie" Blackwell Clarke, is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elizabeth "Beth" Sloan Clarke; two daughters, Elizabeth Ann Clarke Judd of Charlotte NC, and Catherine "Trinka" Clarke Dickey of Savannah GA; one son, Robert S. Clarke III of Due West; six grandchildren, Ben Califf of Charleston, SC, Christina Shealy of Savannah GA, and Robert, Lydia, Andrew, and Samuel Clarke of Due West; and one sister, Elizabeth Clarke Robertson of Chattanooga TN., extended family member Florence Norman; 6 nieces and 2 nephews. A graduate of Due West High School, Robert Clarke was inspired by his admiration of Due West physician Dr. W.L. "Buck" Pressly to an ambition to become a doctor. This dream was delayed by four years of service in the US Marine Corps following his 1942 graduation from the University of South Carolina. As a Captain in the USMC, he fought in the early World War II battles of Tulagi and Guadalcanal and received the Purple Heart for a wound received at Peleliu in Palau, a strategically important Pacific Island. Following his discharge from the Marines in 1946, he entered the Medical University of South Carolina, receiving his MD in 1950. In 1951, after an internship at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, he practiced for a year in Due West with Dr. Pressly. He later served as medical director of the Eastern Coal Corporation in Stone KY, and directed the health services at Clemson College. He completed a residency and fellowship in cardiology at MUSC and Roper Hospitals in Charleston in 1960. He then returned to his family farm in Due West and established his private practice. He was married in 1951 to Beth Sloan, daughter of Dr. Everette Askins and Ann Pressly Sloan. Dr. Sloan was longtime chemistry professor and academic dean at Erskine College. Dr. Clarke was beloved as a personal care physician, often paying personal visits to patients. He was honored by the Town of Due West and the staff at Abbeville Memorial Hospital on his retirement and Erskine College recognized his long service as college physician by naming him to its Academic Hall of Fame. He served on the Board of Visitors for the Medical University of South Carolina and the Abbeville County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees. In 1991 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Abbeville Rotary Club and was inducted into the Abbeville Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was presented the Pioneer Award by the South Carolina Rural Health Association for significant contributions to the delivery of primary health care in a rural environment. Burial in the Due West ARP Church cemetery with Military Honors. Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home.