Tom Clark, of Burlington, Vt., passed away suddenly on February 11, 2025, at his home. The “Man for Off Seasons” was born in Burlington to Cecile and James Clark on July 23, 1944.
Tom grew up in Winooski, where he excelled at baseball, basketball and football and was the class salutatorian at Winooski High School. He went to college at Middlebury, during a time when Middlebury, the University of Vermont, Saint Michael’s and Norwich competed against each other for championships across all three sports. Tom factored in many epic battles versus his in-state rivals, at a time in sports when pitchers pitched the entire game, whether it went nine or 12 innings, and when football was a much grittier version of what we see today.
Tom was a member of Delta Upsilon while at Middlebury College, where he made many friends and talked fondly of the steward position he held that let him make meals for the fraternity weekly. Tom was also a member of ROTC while in college and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, following graduation.
It was during Tom’s time in the army that he met his future wife of 56 years, Suzanne Rousseau, on a blind date. The couple married on June 29, 1968, at the Newman Center at UVM. Following Tom’s military service, the couple settled back in Vermont, where he went to work at IBM, and the couple started a family.
Tom worked with IBM for 25 years. Upon retirement, he started his own consulting firm, Clark Automation, helping local nonprofits with their computer- and IT-related needs. The corporate motto was famously, “Clark Automation: no job too small, some too big.”
Relocating to Underhill, Tom and Sue built their dream house, “Suz Folly,’” on the side of a hill. The couple moved their cherished woodstove to the new house, and Tom loved to stack a cord of wood almost as much as he loved stoking the fires they fueled. There are many fond memories of Tom navigating an icy driveway in the family’s front-wheel-drive minivan.
The couple recently relocated to Burlington to downsize and prepare for the next chapters in their lives. And while some questioned if Tom was ready to leave his beloved Underhill, he was won over by the ease of living a more urban life with a “flick-of-a-switch” gas fireplace and the simple joys of home meal delivery.
Tom Clark appreciated the simpler things in life: a frigid, snow-covered Vermont morning; a well-stacked woodpile; a good pocketknife; fly-tying; bicycling; cooking a burger in a fry pan; and tenting. But what he loved most was his family and friends. Whether it was meticulously taking care of his grandmother Helen’s home, listening to the stories of his children and grandchildren, or catching up with old friends, Tom knew how to make the people in his life feel special. Ever the happy hedonist, he particularly loved preparing a rich banquet and hosting friends for dinners full of laughter and good times.
Tom loved youth sports and spent many years coaching baseball and cheering on his children and grandchildren from the sidelines. He also volunteered as a Meals on Wheels driver for many years. He especially loved it when there was an extra meal for him to enjoy after the deliveries were complete.
Tom is survived by his wife, Suzanne Clark (Rousseau); his son Matthew Clark of Atlanta, Ga.; his daughter, Sarah Clark, and her husband, Frank Spaulding, of Waterbury Center, Vt., and her son, Eamon Langlais; his son Blaine and his wife, Anna Clark (DePasqual), of South Burlington, Vt., and their children, Maggie, Lizzie and Henry; his sisters, Ann Clark, Jane Clark, and Chris and her husband, Paul Rabidoux; and, of course, Miss Mocha May, his recent and beloved rescue dog. He was predeceased by his father and mother, James and Cecile Clark, and many furry children.
If interested, you may make donations in Tom’s honor to Passion 4 Paws, where Mocha May was adopted from.
A celebration of life will be planned for when the sun is out and the fields have dried, and family and friends can come together and share their memories of Tom.
Arrangements are in the care of LaVigne Funeral Home and Cremation Service. To send condolences to his family, please visit vtfuneralhomes.com.
This article appears in Love & Marriage Issue 2025.