Caleb M. Clark, 61, of Prince Frederick, MD and formerly from Kendall Park, NJ passed away peacefully on Sunday, Nov 18th at Anne Arundel Medical Center from complications associated with lymphoma. Caleb (Cal) was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Orange, NJ on January 18, 1957 to George D. Clark Jr. and Consuelo Clark, who are both originally from Livingston, NJ. While growing up in Kendall Park, he attended St. Augustine of Canterbury RC School and St. Pius V High School in Bridgewater, NJ before graduating from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Caleb answered the call of a close childhood friend Tedd Rosenfeld and his wife Shelli and drove west to Los Angeles in his orange VW to help them build and open the west coast division of Audio Plus Video, a television postproduction firm. After several years he worked his way back to NJ via Montana and rediscovered his true first calling being outdoors and working in the landscaping and caretaker professions in the Princeton and Rocky Hill, NJ areas. His lifelong hobbies were fishing and vegetable gardening. His fishing haunts included the Delaware & Raritan Canal at Griggstown, NJ, the Wading River on infamous canoe trips in the Jersey Pine Barrens, the Delaware River when he lived in Lambertville, NJ, and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. He took great pride in his bountiful vegetable gardens out behind the historic family farmhouse at 8 Stevens Road in Kendall Park, NJ.
For about the last 15 years Caleb called Calvert County, MD home. His love for southern Maryland started in helping his late great aunt Malala Freeman with her house at Scientist Cliffs, MD. Malala and her family became his second family. Caleb was employed for a few years as Facilities Manager at Annmarie Sculpture Gardens & Arts Center in Lusby with shorter periods at Scientist Cliffs Association and Cove Point LNG. He was also self-employed helping homeowners with their landscape projects and vegetable gardens while making many friends along the way. He enjoyed driving his truck to places like his favorite store Tractor Supply and finding treasures at SMILE Food Pantry and Thrift Store in Lusby. Caleb was a kind and generous soul who helped many but he also demonstrated some of the “attributes” of his Irish ancestry with his fierce independence and at times a hardheaded stubbornness. Nobody enjoyed story telling by the campfire more than Cal. The Clark family sincerely thanks all his friends in New Jersey and Calvert County that have supported and encouraged him over the years, especially these last challenging months in Maryland in his battles with cancer.
Caleb enjoyed the solitary life with his cats. He was preceded in death by his father George and one of three sisters, Lisa Federico. He is survived by his mother Consuelo G. Clark of Lawrence, NJ, one brother George Clark (and Nancy) of Las Vegas, NV, sister Tina Clark Feole (and Dr. Glenn) of Chapel Hill, NC, and sister Kelly Clark Kiefer (and Matt) of Lawrence, NJ as well as an uncle, aunts, numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, cousins and second cousins.
At Caleb’s request there will be no memorial service. However celebrations of his life are planned in Maryland this December and Spring 2019 in the Princeton, NJ area at a date and location to be announced. The Clark family requests any donations in Caleb’s memory be made to American Chestnut Land Trust, 676 Double Oak Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678 (acltweb.org). The trust maintains trails on a 3,000 acre preserve and Parkers Creek which was a favorite of Caleb’s. Tributes, old pictures, stories and remembrances of Caleb over the years are invited and being collected by brother George at [email protected].
