James Howard Clark
August 4, 1966 - April 21, 2013
Obituary
James Howard Clark passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at his home in Seattle, Washington. He was born on August 4, 1966 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Connie and Glen Clark. While still an infant, the family moved to Reno, NV where his father was a University Professor and his mother a librarian. After graduating high school, James moved to Portland, Oregon to attend Reed College and obtained a degree in History.
After graduating from Reed College, James spent a few years living in Portland and traveling throughout Europe, eventually moving to Boulder, Colorado to attend graduate school. He obtained an MBA and began his professional career as a management consultant in Denver, CO. This work eventually allowed him to move back to Portland.
He enjoyed many activities in Portland but one in particular led to a chance meeting with Christine who would eventually become his wife. He initially impressed her with his ability to shoot paintballs faster than anyone else but it was his kindness and sense of humor that won her over and everyone else who met him.
A few months after marrying, his work took him to the Washington DC area where he worked for Keane Federal And XIO Strategies. He and Christine eventually wanted to return to the Pacific Northwest and in the summer of 2012 they had the opportunity to move to Seattle, Washington, where James joined the team at Bimbo Bakeries.
James had a number of varied passions. He was an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy novels and reveled in the challenges of a wide variety of word and number puzzles. He enjoyed playing the drums and could be found many times playing the bongos. At the age of 44 he bought his first drum set and began taking lessons and would often practice with his sticks on his steering wheel at stoplights. James bowled for most of his life starting as a child with his family continuing throughout adulthood. Golfing was another game he enjoyed playing. He was a skilled pool and poker player and always welcomed a competitive challenge in these endeavors.
Over his short 46 years, James touched the lives and hearts of his many friends both personal and professional with his unique sense of humor and his kind heart. He truly cared for the people in his life and always made the effort to stay in touch when too much time had passed between visits.
James is survived by his wife Christine, his brother Bill, his sister-in-law Elaine, and many, many friends who loved and will miss him dearly.
I worked with James for three years on the UID Program, and we kept in touch since then. James was a great friend, with a great sense of humor and committed to supporting the many people who depended on him. The multiple breakfasts we enjoyed at the Silver Diner were always enjoyable. He will certainly be missed by many.
My sincerest condolences to his wife and family.
Nat Bongiovanni
Dear Christine, Bill, Elaine and the Clark Family –
I am so sorry to hear of your loss, I am deeply saddened. I just learned of James’ passing today from Nat. I had the opportunity to work with James for three years while at Keane (2002-2005), and he served as a mentor and friend for many years after. We kept in touch off and on through occasional golf, watching football, talking Red Sox-Yankees smack, and engaging in fantasy football. After we hadn’t seen each other for awhile, he was kind enough to call to say goodbye when he and Christine were heading West last fall. I was so happy for him because I know that’s always what he wanted to do. I am hard-pressed to find the words, as I know you are even more. Please accept the sincere condolences of the entire Kennedy family. We will miss James and his kind and fun-loving spirit. He made a difference in who I am today.
Sincerely, Ryan Kennedy and family (Alison, Luke (4), and Nolan (1))
I am saddened to learn of your loss. I just learned of James’ passing today from Greg Redick. I had the great opportunity to work with James at Keane Federal. We spent many late nights together working on proposals for Federal and commercial business. We kept in contact with the occasional round of golf, fantasy football discussions, and the Redick Memorial Day gatherings. We talked before the big move to Seattle and I know that he was really starting to enjoy his new career. James was an incredibly funny and kind hearted person. I am struggling to find the words to accurately reflect what James meant to so many people. He was a wonderful person who will be remembered by so many people for his passion for life. Please accept our sincere condolences. – David, Amanda, and Elizabeth Wolf
Clark Family,
I am completely in shock hearing of the passing a dear friend and colleague. James was my mentor for a few endeavors I had at Keane Federal Systems. I can recall our last conversation discussing our amazement that our professional lives took as a result of our Keane training and hearing the excitement in his voice about moving to the Northwest. He really was a great guy and always had a way with minimizing the pressures of business development. We are praying for the extended Clark Family, his wife Christine, and other immediate friends of James. He will truly be missed and if there is anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask!!! Our Sincerest Condolences….. Bell Family (Russ, Leslie, RJ, Leila)
Christine, I was very sad to hear of James’ passing. I can’t imagine what you are going through right now. I didn’t get a chance to meet James, but from what you told me of him, he was a very nice and loving guy. Even though you are out of sight, you are definitely NOT out of mind!! We are thinking of you and praying that God will give you and your family comfort at this time. Hope to talk to you soon.
Christine I’m sorry to hear of your loss and pray that God will give you strength your days ahead. May the time and memories that you and him shared together give you comfort during this difficult process. Praying for you and the family. Please let me know if there is anything I can do. My sincerest condolences.
Lorraine
I carried a card around with me for two weeks before sending it not knowing what to write. I really still don’t. Microsoft Outlook has a feature as part of the contact list where you can insert a person’s picture with all the other contact information. For some reason as I look at my contact list I realized the only pictures where that feature is used in my contact list is for my immediate family and James. That picture was at one of the last XIO Christmas parties.
While I may given Sec Wynne DoD’s IUID policy for signature, I was always in awe of how much he knew about specific details…..details I still don’t lay claim to any authority on. I regret we weren’t able to play golf on the weekends, but always enjoyed his company when we were able to sneak away from work during the week. I thought it was cool he had a bottle of scotch in the office and even cooler still that he was learning to play the drums. Not too many weeks ago we caught up on the phone and I heard happiness in his voice. Hearing James happy made me glad even if we wouldn’t be sneaking off for a round of golf now and again.
There are a great many of us out here with a great many memories of a truly wonderful man and friend.
Our thoughts are with you.
Greg & Jennifer Redick
It has been 18 months since James’ passing, and I still think of him around his birthday and the holidays. I am thankful to have known him in our time working together at Denver Management Group, James’ first gig out of grad school.
I’ll always remember his wry and very intelligent sense of humor, his wonderful ‘just-keeping-in-touch’ voicemails (his last of which I saved for months on my phone just to hear his voice), and his penchant for Crown Royal. I am smiling as I type this and remembering him (and those rosy cheeks) as warmly as ever.
Miss you, James.
XO
Theresa