Clark Rivinoja

A service of remembrance and celebration will be held on March 19 at 10:00 at 1st United Methodist Church, 200 E. Snyder, Hobbs, NM for Clark Michael Rivinoja, 28, of Durham, NC. The Reverend Jason McSpadden and Karen Thompson, AiM will officiate. Burial will take place in Conrad, MT in the family plot.

Clark Rivinoja was born May 6, 1979 in Rapid City, SD. His family moved to Hobbs in 1980. Clark attended Mills Elementary, Highland Junior High, and Hobbs High School where he was goalkeeper for the Hobbs High Soccer Team, presishy;dent of his senior class, and graduatshy;ed salutatoshy;rian of the Class of 1997. He received his undershy;graduate degree in sociology and graduated with honors from Pepperdine University; Malibu, CA in 2001. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from Duke University's School of Divinity in 2006. Clark was a medical researcher at Duke University's Medical Research Center where he was part of a team that designed cuttingshy;edge programs to determine how auditory and visual stimshy;uli affected cognitive brain processes. He was beginning to pursue a doctorate in Cognitive Psychology.

Those left to mourn his passshy;ing are his parents, Bob and Sue Rivinoja, Hobbs, NM, his sister and brother-in-law Erica Rivinoja and Prince Neelankavil, Los Angeles, CA, his beloved fiancee, Julie Lellis, Boston, MA, Great Aunt, Elsie Camilerri, Manchester, CT, numerous cousins and extended family throughout the United States, and many loving and caring friends.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, Bill and Joey Judisch, Ray and Esther Rivinoja, Uncles, Jim and Clark Judisch, Aunt Jean Meredith, Uncle Michael Rivinoja.

Clark will lay in state at Chapel of Hope Funeral Home, 3321 N. Dal Paso, Hobbs, NM Tuesday from 2:30 pm to 8:00 pm and Wednesday from 8:00 am to 8:30 am.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to the Palmer Drug Abuse Program, 200 E. Snyder St., Hobbs, NM or the Brout Fund at www.dukescience.org conshy;tribute. The Brout Fund is the research area that Clark was working in at Duke.

Other services will be held at Pondera Valley Lutheran Church in Conrad, MT on Saturday, March 22 with internment to follow. A memoshy;rial service will be held in Durham, NC on Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00 pm at Grace Lutheran Church, 824 N. Buchanan Blvd.

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