Deceased July 20, 2021
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In Memory
Clark was not ill. He was in the hospital in early July for routine heart valve replacement and went into cardiac arrest on the table. Clark grew up in Pittsford, N.Y. After Amherst, he served two years in the USAF, then joined the State Department for 30 years in some of the most demanding and engaging postings in the Foreign Service: Chennai, Kabul, Saigon, Jerusalem, Lahore, Cairo and Colombo. He continued to explore the world after retiring and enjoyed Hungary, for his son’s wedding; Kabul, to tour old haunts and visit a friend; Auckland, for the sheep; Antarctica, for the penguins; Tristan da Cunha, for isolation and the vigor of the people; New Delhi, for business and friendship; and, most recently, Mexico, for his grandson’s wedding.
Clark was intrigued by the world and fascinated by people. He loved telling, writing and listening to stories. He published in both The Washington Post and American Heritage on topics from U.S. policy and tribalism in Afghanistan to the nuclear bomb dropped on Mars Bluff, S.C. He loved to tour the country, visiting his children in Virginia, New York and South Dakota. Other road trips took him to friends in Sargentville, Maine; any Rochester Redwings game he could find; and eclectic eateries such as Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn in Angelica, N.Y. He enjoyed the Reston Community Center pool, where he swam with friends each week.
Clark was wonderful at keeping in contact. He often talked about, visited and corresponded with friends from Pittsford-Sutherland High School, from Amherst’s class of ’56 and Theta Delta Chi, and from his many travels. He is greatly missed by his children, Katharine Rumrill Teece, Charlie, Richard and Dudley; his nine grandchildren; and his lifelong friend and former wife, Meriwether. He will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery.
—Katharine Rumrill Teece