Obituary: Junius R. 'Sandy' Clark III, 87, Formerly Of Darien

Submitted by Meg Clark

Sandy Clark of Sarasota, FL, formerly of Darien, CT, passed away on March 7, 2023. Sandy was born on October 26, 1935 in Buffalo, NY to Margaret and Junius Clark II and raised in Shaker Heights, OH. He graduated from Cleveland’s college preparatory University School in 1953 and Yale University in 1957. After Yale, he moved into New York City where he met and married his wife, Marcia, whom he endearingly referred to as his “child bride,” though she was six months older than he. They moved to Darien, CT where they raised their four children and lived for 42 years before retiring to Sarasota in 2013.

Sandy was very active in the Darien community. He was involved with the RTM, the Little League, the Darien Junior Football League, and St. Thomas More church, where he faithfully attended the 7:30 Mass every Sunday morning. He was also an enthusiastic fundraiser for his alma maters and went to every reunion he could.

Sandy’s career in advertising and publishing began at Time-Life in the circulation department for Life Magazine, and he later founded the creative agency Clark Direct Marketing. He was a proud purveyor of “junk mail” until his retirement, winning the Marketing Club of New York’s Silver Apple award in 1992.

In retirement, Sandy landed his favorite job ever as a Spring Training usher for the Cincinnati Reds and, later, the Baltimore Orioles. He was avid reader of military history and thriller novels, known by name at his favorite local restaurants, and never gave up on his Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians (ahem, Guardians).

Sandy was predeceased by his wife, Marcia Clark, in 2017 and his brother Thomas Clark in 2016. He is survived by his children, Jennifer (Joe) Clark of Sarasota, Junius “J.C.” Clark IV of Sarasota, Margaret “Meg” Clark of Shelton, CT, and Cyrus Clark of Darien; grandsons Miles and Jeremy Clark and their mother, Lindsey Johnson Clark of Darien; and brothers David Wade Clark of Naples, FL, and Steven (Carolyn) Clark of Newport Beach, CA. The Clark Family would like to thank Catherine and Ned Snow for their love, kindness, and help with Sandy.

Sandy had a way of touching people’s lives in the most memorable ways, from teaching kids how to hit a baseball to handing out suntan lotion and water at Spring Training. He will be missed.

Memorials will be held in Sarasota and Darien at later dates. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation (www.dsf.org) or the American Red Cross (www.arc.org).