Roy Jan Clarke passed away with his family by his side, at the West Parry Sound Health Centre, on Saturday, April 11th, 2020. Age 77 years.

Predeceased by parents Roy and Kathleen Clarke. Beloved husband of Patricia Anne Clarke (Sherry) for 49 years. Loving father of Matt Clarke and spouse Pam Newton; Jill Clarke and spouse Christine Persaud. Proud grandfather of Sawyer, Nadia, Morganne, and Yannick. Fondly remembered by his sister-in-law Donna and her husband Ken Schiedel, and his brother-in-law Pete Sherry and wife JoAnne. Jan was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to so many.

Jan was an educator for his career that began in Wawa, Ontario, where he began to make positive connections with educators and students. He was an admired teacher and principal in the West Parry Sound District School Board for the remainder of his career. Jan will be greatly missed by his former students and in his own words, he “will miss seeing his former students”. He will also be dearly missed by his “fogies group” (a group of men, mostly in the education sector that gathered weekly since 1998). The connections he made in this group were a highlight to his week and an important part of his life after retirement. Jan also had several friends in North Bay who will miss his visits talking about past adventures in their youth.

Cremation has taken place.

A Service in Celebration of Jan’s Life will take place at a later date.

As expressions of sympathy, donations to the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation, or the charity of your choice would be appreciated.

Condolences

We were sorry to hear about Jan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He was a gentleman and a source of common sense and ready humour. Having set countless students on rewarding career pathways he will be remembered with fondness and gratitude by those that he guided and by everyone who knew him.
RIP, Jan!
Terry and Sally Timmons

Jan was a great person. I worked with Jan at Beatty and Nobel schools.Our prayers and thoughts are with Pat and the family.

Dear Jill and family,
I am very sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences.
Laura

Mrs Clarke, Matt & Jill,
Please accept our sincere condolences for your loss. Jan was my (Laura’s) favourite Principal in High School and was a huge factor in my education and well being. I always had so much respect and admiration for his intellect, morals and care for his pupils, friends and family.
Sincerely with regards,
Laura & Jeff Fraser

My condolences to the entire family.
Jan was a loving, friendly and funny guy, who was a pleasure to be around.
He was such a positive role model for Sawyer and Nadia who will miss him dearly.
I know the memories of Jan will live on for many years to come.

My condolences to the family.

I am so very sorry for your loss. Jan was one in a million. I loved travelling with him to OKP meetings in NB, and hearing all the stories about his beloved grandkids. My sincerest condolences.

Jan was my home room teacher and I always respected and appreciated how he handled us, as did an excellent job. He will be missed. Dean Harris

Pat: My heart is broken for you and you family. I hope you can find some solace in memories of the good times. I will be praying for your strength and peace at this sad time.

Roxann

It is with great sadness that I heard of the passing of your dear husband, father and grandfather. What a loss to you, Pat and family. For several years I worked with Jan as his VP at Nobel School. He was a consummate professional as he interacted with students, parents, teachers p, supervisory and support staff. Simply put, Jan was a good man!

This is one of the individuals I still remember well when thinking of Parry Sound or PSHS
He was a class act all the way and I will never forget his generosity and advice and our conversations when I ventured into the Education field
My deepest condolences to the family.

Dear Pat, Matt, Jill and families. It saddens me to hear of Jan’s passing. In my early teaching years, I worked with Jan and he also was a teacher to my children. He was always such a dedicated ‘gentleman’ with true morals and always had the best interests of his students in mind. My thoughts and prayers are with the families at this sad and difficult time. In Peace dear Jan.

Very sorry for your loss he was a great friend of mine who I worked for and got too know though school he will be missed , very sorry Matt and jill

Matt, I'm so sorry for your loss, and condolences to your family. I remember your Dad as a kind and present person. My thoughts are with you all.

Sad to hear of his passing and sorry for your loss.

Mr. Clarke was one of my favourite teachers. I looked forward to his daily "listening exercise". He would read from a novel each day and we would have to answer a couple questions after the reading. This went on until the novel was finished, and then another was begun. A great way to get kids interested in books and reading.

So sorry to hear of Mr. Clarke's passing! I remember how he went out of his way to know the students at PSHS, including me. I also remember a subtle tug-o-war with my diploma at graduation as he gave me one last laugh. Condolences to his family!

Jan, Matt and Jill,
Jan was a wonderful and caring educator that touched the lives of many. I remember his patience and kindness as a student and valued his guidance as a colleague. Sending thoughts and prayers through this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Cheryl (Stoneman) Bissonette

Jill and family, I am so sorry to hear of your Dad's passing. My thoughts are with you in this incredibly difficult time. Sending love and peace.

My sincere condolences to you and your family, Jill. I’m so sorry for your loss.

My sincere condolences now are being sent to you all at this difficult time. Jan was a fabulous principal and I learned so much teaching with him in Nobel. Such a compassionate man who cared for everyone equally.

Barb and I are were very saddened to learn of the death of Jan. We remember his smiling face at the United Church for many years. Our condolences are extended to the family at this time. Rest in Peace Jan

My sincerest condolences. I am so sorry for your loss.

Pat I was truly sorry to learn about Jan's passing. I had the privilege of working with Jan over several years at the High School. He was always professional and made a strong positive impact on the day to day activities of students. He was well respected by both students and staff. His legacy is unblemished and he will be missed by friends and colleagues alike. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.
Marcia and Bob Groskorth

Dear Pam & Family
I am saddened that you, Matt & Roy's Family & friends have lost an important part of your lives.
I offer you my sincere condolences.
Jim

Jillian and Family

I’m so very sorry for your loss

Pat, Matt and Jill,
I was so very sad to hear about Jan. Every time we spoke our conversations quickly became about his beautiful family. Such a kind warm hearted human being, Praying for you all. God bless.

We are so sorry to hear of Jan's passing. Nearly 40 years ago, when I was beginning my teaching career and had moved to Parry Sound, Jan was one of those rare individuals you meet in life who go out of their way to be welcoming, friendly and helpful. Two years later, when my wife began her teaching career and she did a placement with Jan as her associate teacher, those same qualities prevailed. We have never forgotten and always appreciated it. May he rest in peace. Our most sincere condolences to Pat and family.
Marcello & Josie Tignanelli
North Bay, ON.

Sincerest condolences to what I'm sure is his wide circle of friends and family. I was a student at Nobel Public School during his time there, and wanted to share one of my clearer memories of him.

The students had all gathered for an assembly in the gym, and Mr. Clarke put on a lip sync performance of "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. He was so committed to his performance, and the student body was absolutely loving it. It is one of my favourite memories of that school as a child, and wanted to make sure that his family and friends knew the positive impact Mr. Clarke had on his students.

I wish his family all the best in their grieving process.

Our prayers and thoughts are with your family.

There are some people that one never forgets. And sometimes, it is difficult to put your finger on exactly why that is. Jan was one of those people for me. Maybe it was that smile so full of humour and kindness. My condolences to you Pat and to your family.

Sending my condolences to the family. Mr. Clarke was an amazing teacher and principal. He always got to know his students and was a great at listening. He will be forever missed. R.I.P

Pat
So sorry to hear the news of Jan’s death.
He was a great guy and had a great sense of humour.
I will ever forget Jan and Lorie Phillips at a pep rally doing an air band dressed to the nines as AC/DC rocking the gym

One of my favorite teachers ever. Such a wonderful and caring educator. As a teacher's kid i often got to see the human being "behind the curtain" and Jan was such an exceptional one.

My deepest sympathies to the family.

Pat, Matt, Jill, and families, Sincere sympathy to you all in the passing of Jan. We really loved Jan being at the helm as VP at PSHS. He always brought out the best in each colleague and each student that he worked with. His wonderful sense of humour carried us all through many challenges in the education world. You are all in our hearts during these sad days. RIP, Jan, and peace to all of you.

My sincerest condolences. Mr.Clarke was my high school VP, a great man. He will be missed. God Bless

I feel very blessed to have known Jan as a lifelong family friend through my parents. My favourite Jan memory has to be as a Grade12 student. Very early on a Saturday morning when I was setting up for a yard sale, I accidentally backed a trailer through the front door of PSHS. I was alone, panicked and kept quiet. On Monday morning the door was boarded up and it was then I decided to confess to Jan in his office that it was me. He told me insurance would take care of it, thanked me for telling him, and not to worry. It was a secret we always kept between us. No doubt there are thousands of stories out there of funny, inspiring, and thoughtful interactions people had with Jan. I hope Pat that you Matt and Jill can take comfort in knowing what a gift he had as a people person. He had such a positive aura and always seemed to be laughing. Much love to the entire family. Xo

Pat and family
So sorry to hear of Jan’s passing. He always had a smile for all and made a lasting impression on students, fellow educators and friends. He will be missed.
Marilyn

I was deeply saddened to hear the news of Jan's passing. He was a wonderful mentor and I am so very much a better educator for knowing and working with him. I remember dancing with him on stage at an assembly at PSHS; so much fun!
RIP Jan, you influenced so many lives!

My sincere condolences to the family and hope you get the strength to pass thru this.

So sorry to hear about Jan's passing, hew was always such a pleasant man.

Went on student exchange to Chicago with Jan during grade 8 , 1977 . Also enjoyed his book readings . When l think back to all the good teachers l had he is at the top of the list . Gone much to soon . Sorry to here of his passing .

Pat, Matt, Jill and family we are truly sorry for your loss and wanted to send our condolences from Nashville. Beyond being such an excellent educator and leader, I was always struck by how attentive Jan was as a listener... while there were probably a million things going on in the school at any given time, when you wanted to talk to him he gave you his all - truly a gift. We are thinking of you during this difficult time.

My condolences to the family.

I was so sorry to hear of Mr. Clarke's passing. He was a great teacher and have many fond memories of my time in his classroom. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

My deepest condolences to Jillian and her family.

My thoughts are with you during this very difficult time.

Pat and family,we were so sorry to hear about Jan. He was such a pleasant,friendly fellow. He will be sadly missed by so many family and friends. We are thinking of you and your family at this difficult time. Gail and Doug Cook

Dear Pat, we were so sorry to hear of Jan’s passing. He was a great friend, colleague and teacher and will be missed by the community.
Isobel, Scott and Mark Woodhouse