J. Thomas “Tom” Clark
J. Thomas “Tom” Clark passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at his beloved cottage on Back Cove in Maine, alongside Nancy, his wife of 63 years. It was a fitting place and a fitting day for a man who so loved the Fourth of July, his family, and the Maine coast.
Some people leave behind accomplishments. Tom Clark left behind people—people he loved, mentored, encouraged, and whose lives were forever changed because he took the time to show up. For Tom, showing up was never an obligation; it was simply the way he lived. Whether it was family, friends, Cornell, his community, or someone he had only recently met, he believed there was no greater gift than being present. It is the legacy his family will remember most.
J. Thomas Clark was born on April 8, 1941, in Poughkeepsie, New York, to Joseph Thomas Clark and Marion Harris Clark. The oldest of three, he adored his younger sisters, Ann Clark Joly and Jane Clark Chermayeff, both of whom predeceased him.
Tom’s love of agriculture began as a young boy through 4-H and countless hours learning from his grandfather. At just fourteen, he began working summers at Adams Fairacre Farms, then a small roadside farm stand, and faithfully returned even after enrolling at Cornell – never losing his work ethic and love of farming.
He graduated with honors from Arlington High School before attending Cornell University, where he studied Agricultural Economics in CALS. A proud member of Alpha Delta Phi, Tom earned his bachelor’s degree with the Class of 1963 and, after double-registering his senior year, completed his MBA in 1964.
Cornell changed Tom’s life in more ways than one. In the fall of 1961, while visiting Chicago, his future quite literally stopped him on the street. Nancy Williams, whose jaw was wired shut after a moped accident behind the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, somehow managed to ask the young man walking past, “Do you go to Cornell?” That chance encounter became the beginning of one of the greatest love stories. Tom and Nancy married on June 8, 1963, at Cornell and built a remarkable life together over the next 63 years—raising a family, building businesses, restoring an inn, pioneering artisan cheesemaking, traveling the world, and opening their home and hearts to everyone they met.
Just days after their wedding, Tom was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. After completing their graduate degrees in 1964, he and Nancy moved to California, where their first child, Greg, was born. An officer in the Quartermaster Corps, Tom deployed to Vietnam in 1966, stationed primarily at Tan Son Nhut Airbase in Saigon—an experience and commitment to duty, integrity, and service he carried throughout his life.
Returning from the war, Tom attended his 1L year at Boston College Law School before realizing, true to his practical nature, that he would rather hire a lawyer than become one. He left to pursue business—a decision that shaped the rest of his life. He started his career with Acushnet Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He and Nancy settled in nearby Mattapoisett, welcomed their second child, Meredith, and discovered a lifelong love of sailing. His career next took the family to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he rose to become president of Poly-Hi Corporation and where their third child, Megan, was born. A later chapter brought them to Old Chatham, New York, with Crellin Plastics, a division of Albany International.
After an unsuccessful corporate buyout of his divisions, what could have been a disappointment instead became the most pivotal chapter of Tom’s professional life. He met Ron Dubin, and together they founded Dubin Clark & Company, one of the first private equity firms established in Greenwich, Connecticut—built on entrepreneurship, integrity, and long-term partnerships that reflected Tom’s belief that lasting success always began with lasting relationships.
Never content to stop building, Tom and Nancy embarked on yet another adventure. Inspired by the surrounding farmland and Tom’s lifelong passion for agriculture, they founded the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in 1993. What began with a small flock of East Friesian ewes grew into the largest sheep dairy farm in the country and one of America’s most celebrated artisan creameries, producing award-winning sheep’s milk cheeses and yogurts, among them Nancy’s Camembert, named in her honor, along with Hudson Valley Camembert and Ewe’s Blue. From 1995 to 2000, the Clarks also established a critically acclaimed inn and restaurant on the farm that earned entry into the prestigious Relais & Châteaux association in its second year and earned its chef, Melissa Kelly, a James Beard Award. For Tom, the farm and his red tractor were a beautiful return to the passion first sparked as a boy.
Although Tom accomplished much professionally, those who knew him understood that his proudest achievements were never found on a résumé. He was his family’s biggest fan.
Tom’s family always knew he was their biggest cheerleader. He attended birthdays, graduations, regattas, games, celebrations, and the birth of every one of his ten grandchildren, traveling wherever life took the people he loved. Tom believed there was nowhere more important to be than beside them.
His devotion to Cornell extended far beyond his own education. Tom served as a Cornell University Trustee for twelve years, later a Trustee Emeritus, and as a member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine and its Physicians Organization Committee, among many other leadership roles. As a Trustee, he was instrumental in chairing Cornell’s pioneering Lake Source Cooling project, a visionary sustainability initiative that draws on the cold depths of Cayuga Lake to cool the campus—decades ahead of its time and still a model of environmental innovation. Together, Tom and Nancy were also a driving force in founding Entrepreneurship @ Cornell, a university-wide program that fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in participants from every college, every field, and every stage of life—a fitting reflection of the way Tom himself lived.
Cornell recognized Tom’s extraordinary service and generosity many times over: he was named a Foremost Benefactor of the university in 1994, received the CALS Outstanding Alumni Award in 2001 and the Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award in 2006, and was honored as a Presidential Councilor—the university’s highest recognition for volunteer leadership. Together, he and Nancy established the J. Thomas and Nancy W. Clark Dean’s Fund for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the J. Thomas and Nancy W. Clark Professorship of Entrepreneurship, the J. Thomas and Nancy W. Clark Scholarship, and the Nancy W. Clark Dean’s Discretionary Fund in Human Ecology—gifts that will continue providing opportunities for students and faculty for generations to come. He delighted in opening doors for others, helping countless students and faculty find their way to Cornell; a phone call from Tom, a thoughtful recommendation, or simply his unwavering belief in someone’s potential changed countless lives.
Tom’s curiosity about the people he loved never faded. His family came to expect his signature paragraph-long text messages asking exactly what everyone was doing that week. No detail was too small—where they were traveling, what they were working on, how a crucial game or race went, what was next. Looking back, those messages weren’t simply curiosity; they were love. Staying connected was Tom’s way of showing he cared.
Some of Tom’s happiest moments were spent at their cottage in New Harbor, Maine, and in Old Chatham, New York, where he and Nancy created more than forty-five years of memories surrounded by family and lifelong friends. He was an enthusiastic member of the Old Chatham Hunt Club, where he spent many happy days following the beagles on foot through the countryside. One of his proudest moments came when he and Nancy decided the small hamlet of Old Chatham needed its own Fourth of July parade in 1980. Dressing as a soldier in the Continental Army alongside Nancy as Molly Pitcher, Tom led a group of friends to the village square, where they raised Old Glory and sang the national anthem, which is a tradition proudly carried on today by Old Chatham’s residents for more than four decades.
Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Nancy Williams Clark; his children, Gregory Clark (Stephanie), Meredith Clark Shachoy (Christopher), and Megan Clark Eisenberg (Joshua); and his cherished grandchildren Brooke, Reed, Charlotte, Chloe, Chelsea, Conrad, Oliver, Joseph, Grayson, and Ellis. He also leaves behind countless extended family members, dear friends, colleagues, Cornell classmates, mentees, and all those fortunate enough to have been welcomed into his life.
Tom’s greatest legacy isn’t found in the businesses he built, the boards he served on, or the honors he received. It lives on in the people he encouraged, the opportunities he created for others, the family he adored, and the simple example he set every day: work hard, stay curious, love generously, and always show up.
In lieu of flowers, Please consider making donations to Cornell University-J. Thomas and Nancy W. Clark Scholarship or Nancy W. Clark Dean's Discretionary Fund in Human Ecology. By check, payable to Cornell University to: Cornell University, Box 37334, Boone, IA 50037-0334. Please include the scholarship and or discretionary fund name in a note with your check.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Noon from St. James Catholic Church, 117 Hudson Avenue, Chatham, New York, with viewing hours from 10:00–11:30 a.m. in the church sanctuary beforehand; a celebratory reception will follow immediately at Tom and Nancy's home. Burial will take place Saturday, July 11, 2026, in West Pawlet, Vermont.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Robert M. Donaghue, French, Gifford, Preiter & Blasl Funeral Home, Chatham, New York. For directions or to leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.FrenchBlasl.com
