Q: I recently came across Disney animator Les Clark’s grave (and that of his wife Georgia) in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Benton County, Tennessee. There is a portrait of Mickey Mouse engraved on his stone. He was born in Ogden, Utah, and died in Santa Monica, California. I wonder, why is he buried so far from his home and his birthplace?
Andy, Nashville, Tennessee
A: This was his wife’s family’s cemetery. Les was buried in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in 1979, followed by his wife, Georgia, in 2000. Georgia was born in Benton Co., Tennessee, so she obviously picked the last resting place for herself and her husband. Georgia’s parents, James and Ora Vester, are in the same cemetery.
Dave Smith