My Father’s Story
Thomas N. Clark was born in Highland, Michigan on January 27, 1926 to parents Thomas and Lucille Clark. He passed away on August 4, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.
79 summers of his life starting in June 1926 were spent on Bruce Beach playing golf and other sports. Tom started playing golf at age seven with wooden shaft golf clubs at the Bruce Beach Golf Club in 1933. He won his very first golf tournament at the Bruce Beach Golf Club during the summer of 1938 and received the Annie M. Prouse Young Men’s Trophy. He went on to win that same golf tournament again in 1939 and 1941.
He attended and successfully graduated from Redford High School in 1943 at age 17 in Detroit, Michigan. He played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track during his high school years and won letters for football, basketball, and one for track. In the fall of 1942, in front of one of the largest crowds ever at that time; with a packed stadium of 16,000 at the University of Detroit, during the high school playoffs, Tom made a sensational 85 yard run for a touchdown on the kickoff in the second half which resulted in winning that game. During the state track meet in May 1943, Tom won first place in the board jump.
Two of his summers in 1944 and 1945 on Bruce Beach were missed due to his service in United States Marine Corps. Tom volunteered and enlisted in January 1944 at age 17, three days before his 18th birthday in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He began his Active Duty in February 1944 and served in combat in the Pacific Theatre of Operations as a member of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, in the 1st Marine Division. He saw action against the enemy on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa during "Operation Iceberg". The amphibious assault battle lasted 82 days from early April 1945 until the last half of June 1945. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II and involved over 180,000 US and Allied marines, soldiers, and sailors. After Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, Tom was deployed to China for occupation duty and protection of the railroads and other infrastructure against Japanese sabotage. Even though the war had officially ended, there were several hundred Japanese troops still fighting and conducting sabotage raids against the Chinese government. The 5th Marines of the 1st Marine Division were sent to hunt down and stop the sabotage. This operation successfully concluded at the end of April 1946. During his active duty in the United States Marine Corps as a member of the 1st Marine Division in addition to many other personal commendations, the following Unit Citations were awarded:
- Presidential Unit Citation with one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars
- China Service Citation with one Bronze Star
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Citation with one Silver Star and one Bronze Star
Tom was honorably discharged in May 1946 at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois from the United States Marine Corps at the rank of Corporal. The summer of 1946, with the war over, Tom returned to his favorite sport of golf and achieved his first "Hole in One" on the 5th hole of the Kincardine Golf Club. During the fall of 1946 he enrolled at the Dearborn Junior College in Dearborn Michigan and graduated in 1948 with an Associate Degree in Business. He went on to attend the University of Michigan in 1948.
In early 1949, he was offered a leadership role in Personnel Management at Detroit Edison. He also joined the Detroit Edison Athletic Association and played on the company baseball team. He and his team mates won the company baseball championship in late 1949. In 1949, Tom met Patricia and married her on June 15, 1951 and moved to Wyandotte, Michigan. They were able to spend part of their summers at Cottage 97.
While working full time at Detroit Edison, he also attended Wayne State University at night and successfully earned his Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree in Business Administration in June 1954.
In July of 1955, Tom and Pat had a son, Thomas. Tom and Pat took young Tom to Bruce Beach in August 1955.
Tom achieved his second "Hole in One" at the University of Michigan Golf course on the 6th hole on July 13, 1958.
By early 1959, Tom had already received national industry recognition for his efforts on "Work Simplification and Process Improvement" which resulted in receiving an offer to work for a new company called Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. So during the spring of 1959, Tom accepted the offer from Texas Instruments and moved the family to Texas and joined the leadership team. The family went by train and the trip from Michigan to Texas took over two days.
Early in his youth, Tom had been inspired by his grandfather Thomas E. Clark (Cottage 96) involvement in freemasonry. Tom elected to become a freemason in 1958. His Masonic experience was:
- Blue Lodge was originally Wyandotte, Michigan Lodge Number 170 and he was raised to Master Mason in June 1958
- Achieved 32 degree Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in Texas 1967
- Admitted as a noble of the Shrine on the Hella Temple of Dallas, Texas 1967.
- Received his Fifty (50) Year recognition from the Grand Lodge in 2009.
While working full time at Texas Instruments in Dallas, he attended North Texas State University at night and successfully earned his Masters of Business Administration graduate degree in August 1968. Many of his colleagues at Texas Instruments recently shared that his integrity, sensitivity, tenacity, and his sense of humor were only a few of his attributes.
In 1972, Tom won the MGA President’s Cup Golf Tournament in Dallas. During the summers up at Bruce Beach, in both 1976 and 1977, Tom won the Kincardine Invitational golf tournament at the Kincardine Golf Club. And yet again during the summer of 1986, Tom won the Kincardine Invitational golf tournament.
Tom had joined the Stonebriar Country Club in Texas during 1989, so it was no surprise to his fellow golfing friends during the spring of 1991, that Tom won the Stonebriar Men’s Club Championship golf tournament.
In 1991, Tom was selected and appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). While Tom served on the DART Board of Directors between 1991 until early 2000, a significant effort was accomplished towards building and implementing light rail in support of mass transportation for the City of Dallas and surrounding cities. Tom was recognized in late 2000 for his outstanding commitment and service to DART.
Starting in 1993, Tom played golf during the summers at the Ainsdale Golf Course in Kincardine. He won the Club Senior Championship in 1993, 1994, 1996, and in 2000.
Beginning in 1946, Tom and his cousin Jim Clark started a tradition of playing a golf tournament with two of their close Canadian friends, Brad Henry and Gordon Linklater. This foursome created a golf trophy for their own formal private Canadian-American tournament and for 60 years played together every year consistency in several countries and on multiple golf courses around the world. On the 50th anniversary year of the Canadian-American golf tournament, 1995, the golf tournament was played at one of the oldest golf courses in the world, St Andrews. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland hosted the two Canadians and the two Americans and all four spouses for their 50th anniversary golf tournament.
Tom achieved his third and final "Hole in One" at the Ridgeview Ranch Golf Club in Plano, Texas on the 5th hole on April 13, 1999.
The 60th year anniversary of the formal Canadian-American golf tournament and unfortunately the final round of golf for the four lifelong friends was played back where their history started, back at the Kincardine Golf and Country Club on August 18, 2005. Declining health of some of the foursome regrettably concluded the sixty (60) year old golf tournament tradition. During his life, Tom was considered by many golfers to be one of the best amateur golfers of the 20th century.
He was an incredible athletic all of his life, a good husband, a great father, and a fun grandfather.
Tom volunteered to serve his country when his country needed him most during World War II, he was very successful in business leadership, and he served his community through multiple activities such as an active member of the local Lions Club International club.
Late in life, as part of a group of veterans and an active member of the 1st Marine Division Association, he would go out to the DFW airport in Texas and personally welcomed home the troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan almost every other Wednesday between 2009 and 2012. During one of Wednesday outings, Tom and the other veterans got a true surprise when President George W. Bush and his wife Laura attended to help welcome the troops home.
During 2013, for his service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations, Tom was inducted into and honored with a veteran memorial plaque at the National Museum of the Pacific War.
In 1944, when Thomas N. Clark at age 17 took the oath that included the phrase "defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic", that truly meant something to him his entire life; duty, honor, family, country, integrity.
Hearing the National Anthem and seeing the American Flag before sporting events, was always an extremely proud moment, his eyes would tear up and he would salute.
Tom is survived by his wife, Pat, his son Tom and his daughter-in-law Tommie, and by his two grand children, Jennifer and Brian.
Golfer's Prayer
"Almighty God, as we play through our 18 holes of life,
we pray that you will give us a drive that’s both long enough to reach our goals,
and yet straight enough to keep us out of trouble.
"Help us avoid the traps and hazards of life;
nevertheless, should we find ourselves in them, give us the tools, skills and desire to escape them with no penalty.
May we always stay in bounds."
"Help us to be willing to stand by - and not play through - those in genuine need.
May we always play with honor."
"And finally, when we’ve putted out on the 18th green,
we pray that we will have demonstrated the integrity of our character,
so that you will judge us worthy enough to join your threesome and play eternally on your heavenly course. Amen."