Clarke, James Russell, 1902-1995

James Russell Clarke, Jr. was born in 1902 in Glen Cove, NY. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering and in 1940 relocated to New England as a result of his work in the petroleum industry. Inspired by the war effort, he joined the U.S. Navy on his fortieth birthday, serving first at the Boston Navy Yard and later in Norfolk, Virginia. Always an outdoorsman, his retirement in 1958 allowed him to turn his attention to conservation and environmental concerns. He and his wife Winifred were instrumental as open land preservation advocates, working to save Heywood Meadow and raising money for the purchase of land in Estabrook Woods. He donated a substantial part of his own land bordering Spencer Brook to the Concord Land Conservation Trust. Winifred and James Russell Clarke, Jr. were named Concord's Honored Citizens in 1972. He died in 1995, leaving three children and many grandchildren.