The rock in the park means something special to RaeLyn Clark.
It rests as a monument along the edge of the large, sunken skateboard bowl at Brannan Park, a second home to RaeLyn’s late son.
A plaque made in tribute to Dwight Clark is embedded in the rock bench, the boy’s photos facing the bowl as if the skateboard whiz were overlooking all who came to use the park.
“Dwight lived at the skate park, and now he can continue being here,” the woman said last Sunday as family and friends gathered to dedicate the plaque and celebrate what would have been her son’s 20th birthday. “People can remember who he is and what he did here. The rock is a place for boys to sit and be close to him.
“Primarily, I wanted him to physically watch all his skaters, forever.”
If only his friends could have watched over and protected RaeLyn’s boy on Sept. 26, 2010 – the day he disappeared. Dwight, an 18-year-old freshman at Western Washington University, was last seen leaving an off-campus party in Bellingham around 2 a.m. that Sunday.
Dwight’s car remained parked outside of his dormitory. His bank account hadn’t been touched. And despite having sent 6,000 text messages in the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Dwight’s cell phone made no more calls.
Authorities, family and volunteers conducted an exhaustive search, but the Coast Guard pulled Dwight’s lifeless body from Bellingham Bay 10 days later.
The Whatcom County medical examiner ruled Dwight’s death an accidental drowning. An autopsy revealed that he had been legally drunk, with traces of marijuana present in his body. There were no signs of trauma.
Family and friends say Dwight was a good kid, always polite, smiling, laid back. An honors student at Auburn High School, he had four college offers. He had no known history of drug or alcohol abuse, no signs of depression.
He was responsible, accountable, never skipped a day of school, called his mom daily.
But on Sept. 26, 2010, things went terribly wrong.
“Perhaps he did the typical first-year college, first-weekend binge drinking,” RaeLyn said, “and he didn’t stay with buddies. Had he had all the buddies that he had here (in Auburn), I truly believe he would still be here.
“He thought he was invincible, but he wasn’t … “
Dwight was on his own. A bright, ambitious student, he went out to take on the next, bold chapter in his vibrant life.
Then he suddenly took a fatal detour.
“It kinda feels unreal,” said of his close friends, Max Harris. “I miss being with him, skating with him every day, and all the good times we had.”
Jack Skeel appeared numb, somber at Sunday’s community gathering. He, too, missed Dwight. “It’s hard to believe he’s gone. It’s been a really fast year.”
Elliott Cooper added: “I don’t know where to start. … He was never mad, never saw him upset, always happy.”
Dwight was artistic in drawing, filming, photography, and he loved snowboarding. Yet from age 4, his greatest passion was skateboarding.
His talents also led to the design of his own skateboard apparel business, 4evergreen. Clark and childhood friend, Gavin Aubert, began the enterprise in high school.
In a tribute to Dwight, family and friends are using proceeds from apparel sales and donations from the community to build a skate plaza in Auburn.
Friends say a flat, street-style skating plaza – complete with stairs, rails, jumps and other obstacles – has long been needed in town.
It also was Dwight’s dream.
RaeLyn is leading the effort. A single mother, she stays busy and involved, raising her other son, Jared. She has moved forward, despite the painful loss of her son.
“It’s hard because you are still trying to accept the fact he is not coming home,” she said. “For the next 40 years, I should be able to call my son on the phone and say, ‘I’m going to make you dinner and a birthday cake. I will see you at 5.’
“I just don’t want anybody to forget him,” she continued. “I miss his calm, I miss his smile, and I miss his hugs … his hugs absolutely the most.”
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Support Dwight
To learn more or to donate to the Dwight Clark Memorial Skate Plaza, visit www.4evergreenapparel.com. For updates, follow the campaign on Facebook. Donations can be made to the nonprofit Dwight Clark Fund account established at Chase Bank.