SAUGUS — Six years after a U.S. Marine Corps veteran was killed at his skateboard shop, his wife is reminding the world that he was much more than what happened to him.
Shawn Clark was 39 when he was killed at his Malden store, Patriot Skateboards, and police have yet to make an arrest in connection with the crime. Since his death, he’s been called a victim. But his wife, Melissa Clark, wants everyone to remember that his death did not define him.
“He was a fighter,” she said. “A warrior, from the (time he was in the) Marine Corps to the day he left for good and died. He fought. I would like to focus on him as a human being and not just the victim. He was so much more than that.”
Melissa met her husband on a blind date in January 1998.
“We never didn’t see each other from that point on,” she said.
The couple shared a common interest in skateboarding and spent a lot of time at ZT Maximus Skatepark in Cambridge. Even then, he dreamed of opening his own skate shop one day.
“Skateboarding was always something that he loved to do,” said Melissa. “It’s something that he was into at a very young age.”
Shawn’s passion for skateboarding stuck with him throughout his life. He found skateparks to spend time at in North Carolina, where the couple’s two children were born.
Forty-five days after their engagement, Shawn and Melissa were married in July 2001. Shawn Clark joined the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated from boot camp on Sept. 11, 2001. He was later deployed to Africa and twice to Iraq. The second time, he missed the birth of his youngest son.
After four years of active duty, Shawn Clark and his family returned to Massachusetts to live in Stoneham. A year later, in 2006, they purchased a home in Saugus.
“Shawn just kind of took a little bit of time to decompress and acclimate to civilian life,” said Melissa. “It was tough. He lost members of his battalion and we never really talked too much about that stuff. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a pretty delicate thing.”
Shawn continued to skate. While the sport was a stress reliever, it also connected him to a community of skaters who served as a support system, said his wife.
“The community itself is very welcoming and accepting,” she said. “Nobody is discriminated against. It doesn’t matter if you have money, don’t have money, where you live, where you come from, what kind of car you drive or if you don’t have a car at all. Everyone is just very nice.”
Her husband tried to expand that community in Saugus and Malden by giving skaters a place to go in each town. While his efforts did not come to fruition during his lifetime, Melissa took initiative to fundraise and get a skatepark built in Malden.
“I think it teaches kids, or even adults or teenagers who are willing to learn, about perseverance,” said Melissa. “Especially nowadays where we’re kind of in that instant gratification society where people want an immediate reward for whatever you’re doing. Skateboarding is something you really need to put time and effort into.”
Melissa said she remembers her husband returning home one day in 2010 to tell her he had signed a lease to open a shop in Cliftondale Square. After a disagreement with the landlord, the shop moved to Maine Street in Malden a year later.
Three years later, on Jan. 29, 2013, Shawn was shot six times while working at the store, according to a statement from District Attorney Marian Ryan. But no one has been charged in connection with the crime.
“I’m still sad,” she said. “I’m never not going to be sad. You could arrest someone today and I’m not going to feel like that’s justice or closure. I don’t believe in closure. I think that’s just a word people throw around to make you feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Above all else, Melissa said her husband should be remembered as the person he was: a fighter, a kid at heart, and the fun guy in the room.
“He had this very distinct laugh,” said Melissa. “I can hear it in my head now. If he was anywhere and laughing, you knew exactly who it was. He was just a kid at heart, always. Even at 39 years old.”
Investigators believe the murder of Shawn Clark can be solved and are hopeful that, with the passing of six years, someone who knows something may decide to come forward and speak to detectives, according to a statement from Ryan.
“On occasion with other crimes, a citizen has come forward with a small detail which may not appear to have significance to the person, but which has opened doors for detectives and sent them along a path that has led to an arrest,” said Ryan.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Massachusetts State Police at 781-897-6600 or Malden Police at 781-397-7171.