James Henry Clark Sr.

1939 - 2024

James Henry Clark, Sr.

VICTOR - We are sad to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, soon to be great-grandfather, James "Jim" Henry Clark, Sr. Jim passed away in great care surrounded by family members on August 6, 2024.

His life was one to be honored and we will be hosting a Celebration of Life this Saturday, August 10, 2024 at his Ranch in Victor from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Please bring a chair and a dish to go with a pulled pork dinner. The address is 351 Sweathouse Creek Road, Victor, MT. For questions or details, please call Jaime at (406) 207-0525. We welcome any stories about Jim that his friends and family members are willing to share.

Jim was born on December 20, 1939. He and his two brothers, Bill and Jack grew up in Fox Hill, VA with their mother, Virginia Johnson Clark. As the youngest son, Jim was kept in line by his brothers (sometimes). Jim loved the water and grew up water skiing on Harris Creek and taught all of his children to do the same.

Jim was a hard worker from an early age, working at Joynes' Gas Station, on crab boats, on cars, and on many job sites. He always found a way to have a dollar in his pocket and gas in the tank.

He met his wife, Patty, of 65 years, in grade school and they became sweethearts in the fourth grade. They lived a street apart, and he was known to swim to her house many a day.

Jim surprised his family by enlisting in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1958. He and Patty were married on December 23, 1958. He was stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA, where their first son, James Clark, Jr. was born. The majority of his service was in Greenland where he learned to run all kinds of heavy equipment building a city under the ice.

In 1961, Jim surprised his family once again by joining his brother, Bill in a bold move to Montana, where his second son, Tim was born.

His first job was helping to build Apgar Campground in Glacier Park and he learned that grizzly bears do indeed like to sleep under the engines of bulldozers. From there, he would go on to work in all corners of Montana and Idaho including the Butte mines, the Dillon Canal, and many other monumental jobs.

Soon, Jim and Bill had saved and worked enough double shifts, overtime, and extra jobs with the help of their amazing wives that they made the brave move to start their own company, Clark Brothers Contracting in 1964. They proved to be a formidable team in the construction industry. Their company grew to over 100 employees with the help of their treasured friend Jim Hixon. Their company built many of the interstates, state highways and forest service roads in Montana and Idaho.

Through his work at Clark Brothers, Jim developed lifelong friendships and valued the people he worked with like family. Jim had an innate talent for seeing the best in people and bringing out the talents of people with whom he worked. He loved sharing his construction experience and knowledge with others including his son, Tim.

He and Tim formed Jim Clark & Son Contracting to do local work including reclamation projects, building the Bitterroot Stock Farm Club, and many forest service projects. In 1977, his daughter, Jaime was born, and he retired from construction to become a full-time rancher. He loved working cattle, even when wrestling with haying equipment and pulling a calf during a February storm.

Jim is survived by his wife, Patty; sons: Jim and Tim; daughter, Jaime; grandchildren: Joseph, Alex, Alexa, Bode, and Ayla, all which he absolutely adored; and soon to be great-grandbaby, Cooper. He taught them all to live life fearlessly, with faith, trust, and positivity and to never quit until the job was done.

One of his greatest joys was teaching his grandson Joe to fly and sharing in Alex and Joe's Military careers as pilots and in special forces. Joe will be spreading his ashes over the Bitterroots from his plane where Jim hunted and explored all his life on horseback and in his plane.

Jim was the toughest of the tough, with an unbreakable will and spirit. He lived many lives and adventures, and was strong and quick-witted to the end. A gifted storyteller and lover of life, Jim was a wonderful father, grandfather, husband, mentor and friend. He will be remembered for his love of family, hard work ethic, strong faith, integrity, humility, and his kind heart. He will be deeply missed.