Gervaise Clarke

Gervaise Gervais Angelo Morales Clarke was born in Kingston, Jamaica on July 7, 1940 to the
late Vincent Morrison Clarke and Maude Gwendolyn Clarke (nee Harris). His family worshiped
regularly at St. Matthew's Church, Allman Town, Kingston, the closest Anglican church to his
childhood home on Arnold Road. At St. Matthew's, he participated in a wide array of activities
and developed his religious foundations under the influence of such luminaries as the late Bishop
J. Cyril Swaby (who was Rector of St. Matthew's during his earliest years) and the late Rev.
Canon Weeville Gordon (who subsequently became Rector of St. Matthew's). His lifelong
passion for sports, on the other hand, is arguably due to the influence of the sportsmen who lived
on Arnold Road. At no. 36 was the Olympian Herbert McKenley; at no. 40 the future Victor
Ludorum and sports administrator, Freddie Green; and nearby the renowned racehorse trainer,
Abby "AT" Grannum.
Gervaise commenced his formal education at the Mico Practising School, and then went on to
Calabar High School in 1952 after receiving a Government Scholarship. At Calabar, he was
active in all aspects of school life, and represented the school in sports, most notably cricket. After
earning his Senior Cambridge qualifications and leaving Calabar in 1960, Gervaise was
employed as an Assistant Audit Officer for the Government of Jamaica. In October 1963, to the
surprise of many, he enrolled at St Peter's Theological College to begin the process of ministerial
formation leading to his ordination as a Deacon on July 25, 1966, the Feast of St. James the
Apostle, and subsequently as a Priest on July 25, 1967. His first posting was at St. Luke's Church,
Cross Roads, Kingston, where he was mentored by the late Archdeacon Eric L. Maxwell, and
where he deepened his relationship with and ultimately wed Dr. Joan Frances Monica Binger, a
paediatrician whose family were long-time congregants. Their lifelong marriage would yield two
boys, John-Paul and Michael, who both attended Calabar and became aerospace engineers.
In March of 1970, he assumed the position of Rector of St. George's Church, East Street,
Kingston, which at the time was one of the leading congregations in the Diocese of Jamaica and
the Cayman Islands and had an outstanding history of ministry and witness. He remained Rector
of St. George's for 14 years, during which time he influenced and nurtured the spiritual lives of
his parishioners and many others outside the church through his service as Chaplain to the
Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, the Bellevue Hospital, the Jamaica Constabulary Force,
and the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force. He also found time to pursue further studies, earning a
Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona in 1974,
and a Master's Degree in Theology from Princeton University in 1981.
In 1984 he received an invitation from Bishop Keith A. McMillan, who happened to have taught
him in Sunday School at St. Matthew's, to serve as a missionary in Belize. While in Belize, he
served as Rector of St. Mary's Church and Chaplain to the Belize Defence Force and the British
Army detachment in Belize. In 1987, Gervaise and his family migrated to United States, where
he was appointed Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Orange, New Jersey, and
where he would also serve at Chaplain to the local Fire and Police Departments. In 1997, after
he again returned to his studies, he was granted a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Walden
University in Minnesota. Upon retirement from active ministry in 2008, he returned to Jamaica,
where he would remain until 2013, when his declining health precipitated his return to the
United States, specifically Miami, where he lived with his wife Joan (until her death in 2019) and
his sister Jackie.
In parallel with his professional life, Gervaise immersed himself in his lifetime passion for sport.
By the time he was in the Sixth Form, he was adept at preparing statistics on horseracing,
officiating at track events, and playing cricket competitively. Specifically, he started provide
racing statistics to the Gleaner (which he did during the last year of racing at Knutsford Park and
the first two years of racing at Caymanas Park) at the invitation of horseracing punter "Gussie"
Mark; he joined the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) at the encouragement of
Mortimer Geddes–after whom the winners trophies at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships
is named; and he became a playing member of the Kingston Cricket Club. Between 1960 and
1964, he served on the Jamaica Cricket Board, and in 1974, he was accepted as a member of the
Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's Cricket Ground in England.
In 1976, Clarke helped his friend, Neville "Teddy" McCook, with a one-day relay event which is
now known and the McCook-Gibson Relays. While in Belize, he served as the track coach of the
Belize Defence Force - leading them to victory in their national champions. In 1988, Gervaise
became a timekeeper at the Millrose Games in New York; and the following year, he
commenced his many years of service as the Track Referee at Princeton University. In 1992, he
became Associate Chief Finish Judge at the Penn Relays, after having attended and officiated at
that meet since 1967. His contributions to the sport of athletics in the US were recognised in
1995, when he received the President's Award from the USA Track and Field, the governing
body for track and field in the USA.
Later that year, he received perhaps the highest accolade for his work in athletics when he was
selected by the International Olympic Committee to Chair the Committee to select athletics
officials for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and was named Chief Finish Judge for those
games. Following Atlanta, Clarke shared his 30 years of experience and knowledge through a
regular column "Canon Gee" in the magazine Track and Field Jamaica. Upon his return to
Jamaica in 2008, he continued to serve the sport of athletics as General Secretary of the North
American, Central American, and Caribbean Athletic Association NACAC), one of the six area
associations of World Athletics
Gervaise's many years of dedicated service to sports and religion were recognized by the
Government of Jamaica when, in 1998, he was conferred with the Order of Distinction (Officer