Clark

A. James (Jim) Clark of Easton, Maryland, died on March 20, 2015. Jim Clark will be remembered both as the builder of modern Washington, D.C., and an extraordinary philanthropist.

Jim joined the George Hyman Construction Company in 1950, shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in civil engineering. During his early career, he was responsible for construction of the D.C. Chapter House for the American Red Cross, University of Maryland Chemistry Building, and Dirksen Senate Office Building. A hardworking man with an entrepreneurial spirit, Jim advanced quickly through Hyman’s ranks and assumed the role of President & Chief Executive Officer in 1969.

Driven by Clark’s ideals and vision, the George Hyman Construction Company expanded both in size, capability, and geographic reach. The firm opened its first regional office in Atlanta in 1970, followed by seven more over the next three decades in cities such as Tampa, San Diego, Irvine, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Seattle. In 1977, Jim founded a subsidiary, Omni Construction, to compete for projects that required non-union bids. In 1996, he merged the George Hyman Construction Company and Omni Construction to form Clark Construction.

Under Jim’s leadership, and later that of his successors, Clark Construction transformed the Washington, D.C. area landscape with a staggering list of building achievements, including 28 Metro stations, L’Enfant Plaza, the World Bank Headquarters, the Verizon Center, the National Museum of the American Indian, FedExField, the United States Institute of Peace, Nationals Park, and the U.S. Coast Guard Head- quarters. The company also made its mark on skylines across the country with projects such as the McCormick Place Convention Center’s South and West Expansions in Chicago, the Boston Convention Center, Bank of America Tower in Miami, PETCO Park in San Diego, Music City Center in Nashville, the Ronald Reagan State Office Building and renovations to the L.A. City Hall and the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles, as well the San Francisco Civic Center, among others. Today, Clark Construction Group is one of the largest privately held construction companies in the United States.

While he established his reputation as a builder, Jim Clark was equally known for his philanthropy. He had a passion for education, contributing time and significant funding to his alma mater. He strongly believed that engineers could help lay a foundation for economic growth – regionally and nationally. To that end, he was among the largest contributors to University of Maryland, and today the university’s engineering school bears his name. He also provided generous support to Johns Hopkins University and The George Washington University. Jim’s charity also extended beyond the field of education; he supported medical facilities, and organizations that helped veterans, the homeless, and the disadvantaged.

An avid outdoors man, Jim enjoyed golfing, fishing, and hunting with family, friends, and colleagues.

Jim is survived by his wife of 64 years, Alice Bratton Clark; two sons, Paul Clark and wife Carol Parrish, of Mill River, Massachusetts and A. James (Brad) Clark, Jr. of Bethesda, Maryland; a daughter, Courtney Clark Pastrick and husband R. Scott Pastrick, also of Bethesda, Maryland; and ten grandchildren.

I knew Jim for over 30 years and had the good fortune to work for him and later with him for 28 of those years. For all of his success, Jim was always a construction man. He delighted in winning new projects — the more complex, the better. His enthusiasm for growth never waned and he loved to visit our projects until his health began to fail. Jim imbued all of us at Clark with his own values of honesty, integrity and a passion for quality. He was loyal, generous and always direct and forthright. A great mentor and friend, I will miss him but his legacy will live on in our company and in all of us who knew him.

-Pete Forster, 2015