Thomas A. Clark

As a boy, Tom preferred hunting and fishing along the Shetucket river to sitting in class. He was always a wiz at math and his parents had high hopes of him becoming a doctor, until he convinced them he had no such hopes.

As a young man, he liked listening to The Beatles (played the drums himself) and racing his GTO. Later in life he would be one of the slowest drivers ever, so this abbreviated racing career was always hard to believe.

Marriage, a tour in the U.S. Navy, and two sons followed in his twenties. A quarter century working at Triangle Plastic Wire & Cable, followed by years at Kaman Aircraft and General Dynamics Electric Boat, plus serving in the Naval Reserves as a sheet metal worker, filled out his working years.

Tom had many interests that he focused on with micrometer precision (shooting, gardening, stacking firewood), but none so significant as his time spent boating, fishing and clamming out of Quonochontaug (Quonnie) Pond in Rhode Island. Chasing reports of bonito with his son in the front of his aluminum boat (long ago), catching his limit of sea bass (more recently) or digging cherrystones in water up to the edge of his hip boots (always) were among his favorite activities. Camping with his family at Burlingame, or even staying overnight by himself at the Breachway, helped him maximize his time near the ocean and with his fellow fishermen.

He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Sheila, his sons and their partners Thomas Jr. & Diana and David & Valerie, and four grandchildren: Aidan, Ashley, Quinn and Riley.