John Clark and Family

Hi, my name is Manon Champagne from South Windsor, CT.

This fund is being established in memory of John Clark who courageously fought cancer this past year, for the benefit of his tight-knit loving family, dear friends of many, who need help to face their future without John, the primary breadwinner.

For those of you who know him, John is a family man, devoted to his wife Maryse and their daughters Anne-Catherine and Genevieve Clark. John is also a man of faith, and that faith has not wavered but grew stronger throughout his tribulations.

Early this year, John was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, that quickly spread to his liver. He courageously battled the disease, underwent rounds of chemotherapy, making him very sick, and to no avail the cancer continued to spread throughout his whole body.

John is strong and kept working up to now to support his family. He is one of a kind, a skilled craftsmen and artist who loves his work and is so passionate about restoring any antique back to life, or to its original state to the wonderment of his clients.

While fighting the disease, working hard to finish the projects he had already started for his clients, John was also thinking about his family’s future and was in the process of finishing the family home’s basement to list as rental, to provide a much needed income stream to Maryse and their two girls.

Maryse has been unable to continue working as a French Language Instructor to spend time with John and caring for him. She accompanies him to his treatments and doctor’s appointments, worrying about the medical bills, tuition payments, mortgage and utilities.

Earlier this year, Anne-Catherine graduated from Holy Cross College, and had to put on hold her dreams of entering law school in the fall. She decided to work to help support the family and her younger sister Genevieve who also put on hold her dream of going to CU Boulder and instead enrolled at Fairfield University. Genevieve works on weekends and whenever she can to pay her tuition and help her family. She refused to drop any classed and worked hard to complete her finals in December because she knew how important her education was to her dad and how proud he was of her getting into Fairfield U.

On Saturday December 9, surrounded by his loving family, in front of the fireplace looking at his last Christmas tree, John was peacefully called home.

Nothing can replace John but we can all make a difference in his name to support his family in their time of need.

John, Maryse, Anne-Catherine and Genevieve thank you for your support.