Francis Joseph Clarke
Francis Joseph Clarke was born in New York City on March 24, 1941. He grew up in the Highbridge section in the Bronx, the youngest of three children to Frank and Margaret McHale Clarke, both from County Mayo, Ireland. He was educated at Sacred Heart Elementary School and Cathedral Preparatory, a Minor Seminary, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He graduated from Fordham University in 1963.
After Fordham, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving two years aboard the U.S.S. Lowry. He spent one year helping sandblast the ship in Norfolk, Va. and the second getting a chance to see different parts of the world, including ports in Europe.
Following the Navy, he took a job with the Ronald Press in Manhattan, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Ann Slocum. They had their first date at Molly Maguire's Pub and Restaurant on St. Patrick's Day in 1967 and got married on September 14, 1968 at St Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City. They were married 56 years and were deeply devoted to each other, with Elizabeth caring for and comforting him at their apartment in Manhattan as he fought a short battle with cancer. He died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of April 1.
After living a brief time in the Bronx, Frank and Elizabeth moved to Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. in 1970 where they raised their three sons: Andrew (born in 1969), Paul (born in 1971) and David (born in 1974).
Frank retired from a long career in the reinsurance industry in 2009. He had an incredible work ethic that was developed at a young age. He took his first job when he was around 10-years-old, sweeping out a neighborhood store. Growing up in a working class family, he held a number of after school jobs, among his favorites was as an errand boy for a local butcher, who inspired a lifelong interest in food and nutrition. At age 12, he was able to buy his family their first television set from his earnings from that job.
Curious and intelligent, he was a lifelong learner who devoured numerous newspapers each day and tuned into the PBS Newshour at night. When he began to travel more broadly once his sons were out of college, he would make the most of the trips to London and other European capitals by studying up on everything he wanted to see months in advance, occasionally writing to the travel guide authors to correct their errors.
He was also a prodigious saver, prioritizing spending money on family dinners and vacations as well as his sons’ education. He particularly enjoyed the family’s yearly trip to Martha’s Vineyard, where he had earlier honeymooned with Elizabeth. His kids got a kick out of the lengths he would go to bulk up the bank account for these activities. He cut coupons, viewed jeans as a 15-year-investment, and insisted on commuting to work in a car without air conditioning or a radio, which he considered frivolous luxuries. But he was always generous with his family and others – most importantly with his time and attention. He was an uncommonly decent man with an empathetic spirit.
In Croton, he was an active member of Holy Name of Mary Church where he served as a lector and a member of the choir. As a boy, he was an altar boy. As an adult, he often attended mass multiple times a week.
In the early 2000s, he and Elizabeth bid the suburban life goodbye and moved into an apartment in Manhattan just up the avenue from the United Nations. He was invigorated by all there was to do and took joy in even routine activities like grocery shopping at different markets as well as chamber music concerts at local churches. The neighborhood was in some ways far from the Bronx where he grew up, but also had reminders of the life his immigrant parents built for themselves and their children with the opportunities they found in America. The Con Edison plant where his father worked was only a few blocks down the street and around the corner was a brownstone where his mother worked as a maid when she first arrived from Ireland.
Along with being a loving father and husband, he was a welcoming and loving presence for his three daughters-in-law: Kristen, Jennifer and Margaret. He made each feel like a member of the family.
He was also a wonderful grandfather, or “Papa,” who took immense joy in his four grandchildren: Matt (25), Emma (23), Betsy (4) and Charlotte (18 months). He was an enthusiastic singer whose tastes ran toward old standards. As young children, Matt and Emma got a kick out of his renditions of “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” and “I Got Shoes.” Betsy and Charlotte loved hearing him sing “Alouette, Gentille Alouette” with Betsy proudly learning the lyrics so she could sing the song back to him. All four were treated to his monkey face and learned to make it themselves while laughing.
Frank Clarke is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Slocum Clarke of Manhattan; his sons Andrew (Kristen Thomas Clarke) of Devon, Pa.; Paul (Jennifer Kotler Clarke) of Ossining, N.Y., David (Margaret Lynn Chadbourn) of Alexandria, Va.; his grandchildren Matthew of Nashville, Tenn., Emma of Philadelphia, Pa.; Elizabeth “Betsy” of Alexandria, Va. and Charlotte Frances of Alexandria, Va., and numerous nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his sisters Anne Bérubé and Rita Buckley.
There will be a memorial service to celebrate Frank's life at The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, at 869 Lexington Ave (Between 65th & 66th) New York, NY 10065 on April 14th at 10am. Following the service, there will be a luncheon at Copinette located at 891 1st Ave (at 50th Street), New York, NY 10022.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Frank’s honor to the following organizations:
Carpenter’s Shelter
Breakthrough T1D,
NYC Bird Alliance
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Robert Heelan Viewing: Saturday April 25, 2026 9:30AM to 10:30AM The Oratory Church of St. Boniface 190 Duffield St Brooklyn, NY 11201 Funeral Mass: 1030 AM The Oratory Church of St. Boniface 190 Duffield St Brooklyn, NY 11201
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Viewing Monday April 6, 2026 1:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M. John Krtil Funeral Home 1297 1st Ave New York, NY 10021 Private Cremation