Elwood “Woody” Clark in his 30s.

PENDLETON — Elwood “Woody” Clark lived life at full throttle.

Clark, the founder of Woodpecker Truck & Equipment in Pendleton, died June 1, just 40 days shy of his 100th birthday. His truck sales and repair business outgrew its first location near the family home on Highway 11 and expanded in 1968 onto 40 acres west of Pendleton along Interstate 84. Clark’s trucks ended up in far-flung locations, with 21 of them going to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.

His relationship with 18-wheelers began at age 16 when he began transporting a variety of cargo and eventually hauling logs from Ritter to Reith. After a successful stint selling International Harvester trucks, he struck out on his own.

Dan Clark remembers his father as an energetic man on the move.

“Everything was a race,” Dan said. “He always wanted to excel. He always drove fast.”

Dan recalled accompanying his father to work in one of the big, brown Lincolns that Woody bought regularly from the Ford garage, before later switching to Cadillacs.

“In the 60s, the speed limit was 75,” Dan said. “Dad would drive well over 100 on the freeway.”

Local police took note.

“He lost his driver’s license because he had so many speeding tickets,” said daughter Mary Gaynor, of Cave Junction. “He never did anything slow. Everything was fast.”

After the temporary loss of his license, Woody learned to fly and built an airstrip on the property along Highway 11. He often buzzed the family home. He added a Cessna airplane dealership to his truck operation and later a Ski-Doo franchise. Eventually, the truck dealership business expanded to additional locations in Troutdale and Yakima.

Defeat not an option

Dan described his father as an endearing, persuasive guy who believed in his product so much he refused to accept rejection. On one sales call, Woody flew to New Mexico to do a sales pitch to prospective buyers for a fleet of log trucks. When the logging company owners (two brothers to whom Woody had sold trucks previously) said they had to think about it, Woody appeared genuinely shocked they would even consider other trucks.

“I’m not leaving until you sign these papers,’” Dan recalled Woody saying. “They looked at Woody, started laughing and signed the papers.”

When a bank turned him down for a loan in 1968 for 40 acres by Interstate 84, Clark got in his car, drove to Portland and confronted the loan officer who had turned him down.

“Look, you need to understand something,” Woody said fervently, as relayed by Dan. “This dealership is going to be right on the freeway and it’s going to be a huge money maker.’”

“He convinced the guy right on the spot,” Dan said.

Clark pivoted quickly to take full advantage of unexpected business opportunities. Gaynor said Woodpecker Truck sold about 6-8 logging trucks a month until a controversy regarding the northern spotted owl curtailed logging in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Sales dropped. When her father got an opportunity to sell 14 trucks to the military in the early 90s, he grabbed it. Clark and his team had three days to drive the trucks to Jacksonville, Florida, where the 18-wheelers would roll onto a ship bound for Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm.

After most of them were loaded, “Dad realized he hadn’t been paid for the trucks,” Mary said. “He wouldn’t let them go until he received payment.”

The trucks were unloaded. After a phone call from an infuriated military representative, Clark got guarantee of payment and released the trucks for transport. Later, he got an order for seven more.

Trucker finds love in John Day

Clark was a family man. At age 24, he first spotted his wife-to-be as he drove a logging truck through downtown John Day.

“She was beautiful,” Gaynor said. “She stood out in a crowd.”

Julie Compere, 20, had traveled by ship to New York from her native Belgium and continued by train to John Day to visit a sister who had married an American soldier. One day she went for a walk downtown with her friend. As Clark navigated his truck down the street, he spied Julie and stopped to offer a ride to her and her friend. They climbed in.

“Dad was smitten,” Gaynor said. “Mom didn’t go back to Belgium.”

The couple got married and raised eight children.

Letting God take the wheel

Clark told anyone who would listen that his business didn’t really take off until he let God run it. It was an abrupt transition from whiskey and cigars to sobriety and Sundays at church. Maybe it was the business gospel convention he attended with a friend. Maybe it was the request from Julie to take one day off from work each week and attend mass. Or maybe it was the admonition from his doctor.

“He’d been drinking and smoking and living a wild life,” Dan said. “Doc told him ‘You’re killing yourself.’”

Whatever it was, the switch was flipped in 1975.

“When he became Christian, he did that full throttle,” Dan Clark said.

Woody had glimpsed faith before then. At age 5, he fell sick with pneumonia and heard his father asking God to save his son.

“He remembered hearing his dad praying,” Dan said. “The next morning, he was healed. He got up and had breakfast.”

After his conversion, a billboard on Interstate 84 informed motorists that “Jesus Loves You” over a bigger company sign.

Man with a plan

Clark left an indelible image on his employees. Bob Thorne started working for Clark at age 19 and stayed for 45 years. Thorne started as a steam cleaner, the guy who uses steam to remove debris and grease before the mechanic inspects or repairs. Now retired, Thorne worked in every department and managed operations for about six years. Clark excelled at business, Thorne said, and was an amazing human.

“Woody Clark was so much bigger than life,” Thorne said. “He loved what he did. He was an outstanding motivator. Woody Clark made me a better person. Gave me opportunities I never would have had.”

Over the years, many of his family members worked for the company. At its height, Woodpecker employed roughly 130 employees at the three dealerships. The RWC Group, a commercial truck and bus dealership, bought the company in 2022.

Now that Clark is gone, his family takes comfort in the plethora of memories he left behind.

Gaynor will always treasure her father’s unrestrained enthusiasm and deep love for his children.

“You always knew he had your back,” she said. “He was very passionate about everything he did.”