At the beginning of each year, Thomas C. “Tim” Clark would sit down with a red pen and mark on his calendar the birthday of each of his friends as a reminder to send a card or make a celebratory call.
As much as his signature bow ties, Mr. Clark’s legacy will be his dedication to his friends, bonds formed in his childhood and through years as a financial adviser and civic volunteer.
Mr. Clark, 70, of Chicago, a first vice president of Morgan Stanley, died of complications from leukemia Tuesday, Feb. 3, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“Tim was very thoughtful … and certainly loyal,” said Ray Olson, his pal for 55 years. “What impressed me over the years was his uncanny ability to have as many friends as he did and to stay with them. He was always there when you needed him–a great attribute and the definition of a friendship.”
Raised in Winnetka, Mr. Clark–nicknamed Tim to avoid confusion with his father, Tom–graduated from North Shore Country Day School, leaving with not only a diploma but also a large group of friends, such as Olson, James Glasser and Byron Campbell.
“When I think of him, I think of our school and all the friends that he made through the years. Friendships with him lasted forever,” said Campbell, a retired Tribune Co. executive.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Mr. Clark joined the downtown office of Dean Witter, now Morgan Stanley, in 1959 as a financial adviser. He became a first vice president in 1970.
“Tim had a real love of investments and the markets,” said Tom Ryan, an executive director of Morgan Stanley. “He had a great way of dealing with people and was very well liked.”
Since 1980, Mr. Clark had been a Shedd Aquarium trustee.
“There is nobody around that loves the aquarium more,” said Ted Beattie, the aquarium’s president and chief executive officer. “Tim was truly committed and tremendously supportive,” he said, noting Mr. Clark’s leading role in campaigns that helped fund numerous important projects. “He had a true appreciation for the environment and everything that lives in it.”
Fish also took a starring role during Mr. Clark’s push to change the menu at the University Club, where he had been a member since 1969 and a longtime house committee member. He ate lunch there several times a week.
He authored what the club calls the Clark Report back in the 1980s in which he and several other board members visited restaurants and other clubs to compare the food with their club. Soon after, the club built an oyster bar, held specialty luncheons, such as its soft-shell crab extravaganza, New England clambake and a smelt fry.
“His legacy at the club is pretty far reaching,” said club general manager John Spidalette.
His home in Wisconsin was “the second love of his life,” said Winnie, his wife of 10 years. “He was the happiest there.”
The home provided a place for him to enjoy the outdoors and his two passions, fishing and hunting, she said.
His fondness for the outdoors led him to start a summer day camp for children in his Winnetka neighborhood while he was still in high school, she said. For eight years, the campers met for activities in a field and swam in a pool belonging to a friend of Mr. Clark’s.
Other survivors include his former wives, Carter Dufour and Nancy Clark; a stepson, Andrew Manacheo; a stepdaughter, Christina Knaak; and a nephew, Hobart Dickey.
A memorial service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the University Club, 76 E. Monroe St., Chicago.
