Michael Park

He is survived by his wife Kathryn, his children John (Donna), Mike Jr. (Carol), Carol, and Bob (Janet) and his grand-children Nicolas, Christopher and Jason, as well as his beloved dog Nico.

Born on December 5th 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, Mike grew up in Arlington Heights where he graduated high school in 1948 as his class salutatorian. He then attended Harvard University, graduating in 1952 with a cum laude degree in Mathematics. He served in the US Navy for 2 years, stationed in New York. It was there that he met his wife and love of his life, Kathryn Connor, and they were married in January 1956. After his discharge from the Navy, Mike attended Harvard Business School, graduating in 1957 with both an MBA and a Masters in Soil Engineering.

After working in several management positions in his early career and moving to Philadelphia, he founded Clearfield Energy in 1983 and ran that company for almost 30 years, building it into a multi-state and multi-divisional operation with over 150 employees. He sold the business in 2012 and remained on as a management consultant until his retirement in 2015.

Mike was a long-time supporter of the arts and humanities, with a special focus on the Northern European prints of wood engravings from the 15th and 16th century. He served on the Prints, Drawings and Photographs Committee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for several years, where he contributed his knowledge and supported the work of the department. He was also a major patron and supporter of the Barnes Foundation. In May 2016, Mike and Kay established the Michael and Kathryn Park Endowed Chair in Cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, supporting the research of their friend and cardiologist Dr. IK Jang.

Among his many interests Mike loved golf, his dogs, travel, sports, great food and wine. Since 1967, Mike and Kay were members of Waynesborough Country Club. They were also members of Saucon Valley Country Club for over 20 years. Their culinary exploits began at Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia in the 1970’s, leading to extensive traveling thru Europe and California, and the development of long-term friendships with chefs around the world. Mike was also a voracious reader with interests in ancient and modern history, the classics, art, and crime and spy novels.

Mike was a devoted husband and father and nothing gave him more joy in his later years than playing with his grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Michael Park to the Michael and Kathryn Park Endowed Chair in Cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Donations may be made online at giving.massgeneral.org, or checks made payable to the Massachusetts General Hospital, and can be mailed to the address below.

MGH Development Office

Park Endowed Chair

125 Nashua Street, Ste 540

Boston, MA 02114-1101