Gary Carlton Clark of West Hartford, Connecticut passed away peacefully on July 26 after a long and courageous fight with Parkinson’s Disease and a brain tumor.
He was born in Utica, New York to Herbert Carlton Clark and Janet English Clark, graduated from New Hartford Central High School in 1966, then followed in the footsteps of his father (Class 0f 1935) to Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. He was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity where he made many lifetime friends. Gary’s 50th college reunion this past June was postponed by the Corona pandemic.
He is survived by his life partner Laura N. Zase of Old Saybrook and West Hartford, Connecticut, along with many cousins and “family” throughout the country.
Gary was a unique individual who followed his great intellect and heart and approached everything with 100 percent of both. He was a lifetime sports fan, with a special attachment to the New York Yankees. He worked with the Utica Comets in the North American Hockey League, the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association, and the Hartford Whalers in the National Hockey League. He had many hobbies including bridge, New York Times crossword puzzles, and record collecting, and finally the last decades of his life to his favorite, American Flyer Trains. He and Laura came to be premier collectors and dealers of model trains. They were known nationally for their knowledge and excellent eye for detail and quality.
He wished to be cremated with no memorial service, but he is in all of our memories forever.
Memorial donations in Gary’s name can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the American Brain Tumor Association.
Contact information:
Mobile numbers: 860-913-4812, 860-680-4812
PO Box 270359, West Hartford, CT 06127
Dear Laura,
Linda and I are thinking of you with the lost of Gary. Gary will be in your heart forever and the good memories of Gary will be with you forever also. We will not forget Gary.
I would like to share with you my memory of how we first met Gary. I was not into model trains at the time, as it was November, 1987 and there was a train show in a retail/office complex in Gaithersburg, MD. So we decided to go, just to walk around and see what a train show was like. I had trains as a kid, as I still had my two AF sets from childhood, as I later got into HO. …