Obituary: Mining machinery entrepreneur Jack Clark dies at 82


John (Jack) Hayes Clark, entrepreneur and mining machinery manufacturer, died peacefully after a lengthy struggle with Parkinson’s disease, at his farm home on Nov. 4, 2008. He was 82.

Clark became an important mining machinery supplier when he founded John Clark Inc.

Clark was born in Kitchener, Ont.,and graduated from the mining engineering program at the University of Toronto, in 1950. In 1965, he founded Jarvis Clark Inc., a mining machinery company, with partner and fellow entrepreneur Lyle Jarvis in North Bay, Ont. Clark went on to build John Clark Inc., a mining equipment manufacturer in Denver, Colo. Although he officially retired in 1990, Clark advised his son, Graham, in a turnaround situation with the John Deere construction equipment distributorship in the greater Toronto area. In 1999, Clark received an honorary doctorate from Nipissing University and established the Jack Clark Award for budding business leaders.

An avid skier and outdoors-man, Clark applied his high energy to both his personal and professional life.

Throughout the last decade of his life, Clark raised research funds for the fight against Parkinson’s disease. He funded the Jack Clark Chair in Parkinson’s disease Research at the University of Toronto.

Clark is survived by his wife Mary Elizabeth Clark (McLaren), son Graham and daughters Lianne and Karen, and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts be directed to the Canadians with Parkinson’s Research Disease Fund, Faculty of Medicine, 1 King’s College Circle, Room 2306, University of Toronto, Ont. M5S 1A8.

A private tribute to Clark’s life will be held on Nov. 29, at 1 p. m. For further information please contact Mary Clark at maryeclark@rogers.com.

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