Clark remembered his contribution and dedication to Union hockey

SCHENECTADY Whatever had to be done at the Union Colleges Messa Rink, no matter how big or small it was, Jim Clark did it and did it with a smile knowing he would help men’s and women’s hockey teams succeed.

All I know from my experience is that she has always been here to help us on the field with everything we need, Union College women’s hockey head coach Josh Sciba said. No project was too big for him. He was always willing to help us. What we needed, he was gorgeous.

Clark, who worked in the Union for 31 years, died of cancer on July 29. He was 66 years old.

He always wanted what was best for this facility and our programs, Sciba said. You decide. He was always close by to make sure we could do what we had to do. He had a problem with whether there were ice issues, if there were items in the locker room, if the water was flowing into the showers downstairs because we had kids in several locker rooms during COVID, like simple things to big things, he was always available.

Clark worked at the college in a number of roles, including overseeing campus HVAC systems. But his love of hockey and dedication to the Mass and hockey programs inspired him to coaches and players.

We all remember seeing him on the field, said Coliska Stevens, a Niskayuna native who was the Unions goalkeeper for the 2014 national team. His contributions to the program were enormous. He brought a smile to your lips every time you saw him on the field. We were all looking forward to seeing him on the field.

Even when he was not on the field, Clark monitored the ice conditions with his laptop from home. Clark would adjust the ice temperature from home if needed.

He loved his job, said Brianne Brinker, the union’s deputy director of athletics. He didn’t want to leave. He liked being here, liked to work, and in his heart there was definitely a place reserved for hockey. There is no doubt about that.

It always felt like we had a huge home-ice advantage at the Mass, Stevens said. Jim was a huge part of it.

Clark spent 45 years in the military. He served in Vietnam and later in the National Guard of the Army. Clark was sent to Ground Zero shortly after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001.

I remember our daily interactions, just the kind of talking about hockey and just talking about school and what’s going on on campus and what’s being fixed on him, said Union men’s hockey head coach Rick Bennett. Even talking about his military experience was always interesting, which I thought was really impressive. First, it jumped on me. He lit up a bit when I asked him questions about what he was going through and what he was doing right now. He could only tell me so much. In the same way, it was really interesting to learn his history.

Clark survives his wife Victoria, two children, two grandchildren and 10 grandchildren.

The memorial service will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Memorial Chapel on the Union campus. Face shields are required. The funeral will be held on Tuesday at Gerald BH Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville. Instead of flowers, donations in memory of James can be made to the pancreatic cancer network (https://www.pancan.org) or our home for our troops (https://www.hfotusa.org).

Clarks ’death marks the third overtaking of the Union hockey family in the last nine months. Rosemary Pryne, a longtime holder of Union College season tickets, died on December 30th. Union College employee and Superfani Raymond Cook died on June 3rd.

In hockey, they say a hat trick is a good thing, Bennett said. Here [case]as people move forward, with Ray Cook, Jimmy Clark and Rosemary Pryne, the year has been difficult.

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