John W. Clark

1928 - 2022

John W. Clark

Las Vegas, NV - John W. Clark, of Las Vegas, Nevada, Bigfork, Montana, and longtime resident of Palos Verdes Estates, California died Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at home in Las Vegas with his wife Mary by his side.

Born in Sunderland, Massachusetts September 14, 1928, John was the son of Chester Clark and Hazel Clark. He spent his youth in South Deerfield Massachusetts.

John, a graduate of Deerfield Academy in 1946, lived his entire life honoring the school motto: "Be Worthy of Your Heritage." From Deerfield, he went on to Gettysburg College where he graduated with a B.A. in Economics. He played four college sports: basketball, soccer, track, and tennis. Today, the soccer and lacrosse field at Gettysburg are the beneficiary of John and his wife Mary's gifting and is aptly named Clark Field. John served on the College's Board of Trustees for 8 years (1983-1991), received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, and was honored as Trustee Emeritus in 2010.

After serving during the Korean War, he was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force as a 1st Lt. in 1954. Subsequently, he joined The Aluminum Company of America as a sales administrator and representative in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas respectively. In 1964, he was transferred to Australia where he became Manager of Direct Sales in distribution with Alcoa of Australia, returning to the United States in 1968.

John was founder and Chief Executive Officer of Clark Metals, Inc., a non-ferrous metal distributor with its main branch in Gardena, California, and other locations in Hayward, California and Dallas, Texas. The company was sold in 1996 to Thyssen Krupp, a German producer of ferrous products. He also formed Pacific Challenge, a wholly owned subsidiary of Clark Metals, which was established as an import export company trading in semi-fabricated non-ferrous metal products to the Asian market.

Undoubtedly, John would want to acknowledge and thank the Clark Metals and Pacific Challenge teams and all the others that supported his efforts. He would often quote: "When you see a turtle on a fence post, chances are he did not get there on his own." It required dedication by many people, and John spoke of you and your families often. Thank you for all you did to make his business life meaningful.

John's business and civic affiliations included the Board of Directors for both the National Association of Aluminum Distributors and The Copper and Brass Service Center Association from 1964–1992. He served as Vice President of BRICA (Broadway and Rosecrans Industrial and Commercial Association), was Vice President and founding member of the Torrance Memorial and Medical Center Associates and was a member on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Prologue and Literary Society from 2001-2009 (and served as President from 2010-2012). He worked as co-chair of the California Club Reciprocal Committee from 2014-2016 and was elected in 2014 to the Advisory Board of Paramount Global Services Group and The Advisory Group for California United Bank. John was a Patron of the Norris Community Theater, The Peninsula Symphony, and the Pacific Opera of Newport Beach.

His fraternal and club affiliations over the years included Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), Club 33, the California Club, the Palos Verdes Golf Club, Rolling Hills Country Club, and the Virginia Country Club.

John was predeceased by his mother Hazel and father Chester Clark, a son Robert C. Clark, a grandson Casey Clark, and two sisters Nancy Ray and Doris Clark.

John's wife Mary is left with 33 years of wonderful memories. John is also survived by a son Tom, a granddaughter Katy and her mother Bonnie, Stuart and Anneke Ray, John and Susan Ray, Neil Winterrowd, Rod Winterrowd, Peggy and Gary Winterrowd, Craig Woods and Mike Sabadosa, Rosalind and Rick Chaisson, Heather and John Corbett, Glenn and Debbie Woods, Keith and Brenda Woods, and Dale and Andrea Woods.

John's life journey took him around the globe, and he was enriched with wonderful friendships along the way (from Australia to the U.S.). His final years were happily spent in Bigfork, Montana where he formed very special bonds. To his entire extended family of friends, we thank you all for making John's life fun, full of adventures and always interesting.