James W. "Jay" Clark

CLARK, James W. "Jay", 88, of Richmond, passed away Friday, February 13, 2009. Jay was born April 20, 1920 in Williamsburg, Va. He was preceded in death by his parents, Irene H. and Frank R. Clark; sister, Fannie Clark Nightingale and her husband, Lort of Williamsburg; brother, Frank L. "Chuck" Clark of Cartersville, Ga. Jay graduated from Matthew Whaley High School in 1937 and later the College of William and Mary in 1950. He served in the U.S. Army from July 1945 to January 1947, including the time during the occupation of Germany. His proudest professional accomplishment was to serve as assistant director and play a vital role in the establishment of SEVAMP headquartered in Norfolk, Va., one of the nine model programs sponsored services to the aging, funded by the federal and state government. This was the model by which all such agencies were established in Virginia. He was a member of Williamsburg Historical Records Association and the Genealogical Society of Virginia. He was a member of River Road Church Baptist, of Richmond. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Janet Jolly Clark; daughter, Jill Clark Page and her husband, Malcolm Page; two lovely granddaughters, Jessica Page Gentry and her husband, Joey Gentry, and Emily Page, all of Richmond; sister, Nancy Clark Griesenauer of Williamsburg; and many cousins, nieces and nephews in both Virginia and Georgia. Jay wished that we not grieve for long but continue to give back each in our own way. He fought a hard fight for many years. He will be greatly missed. Family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, February 16, 2009 at the Parham Chapel, Woody Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Rd. His funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at River Road Church Baptist, 8000 River Road, Richmond.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.