HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 244
Celebrating the life of Charles Stuart Clark.
 
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 4, 2024
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2024
 

WHEREAS, Charles Stuart Clark, an accomplished writer and newsman, local historian and storyteller, and beloved member of the Arlington County community, died on November 15, 2023; and

WHEREAS, a proud native of Arlington County, Charles "Charlie" Stuart Clark graduated from Yorktown High School in 1971 before spending a yearlong sojourn abroad in Europe, attending the University of Oregon, and ultimately earning a degree from McGill University in Montreal; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark's early experiences working at his high school student newspaper and then at Time-Life Books cultivated in him a passion for producing quality journalism; and

WHEREAS, over a long and illustrious career reporting on the federal government, Charlie Clark held positions as a reporter or editor at The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, and National Journal, before ultimately retiring as senior correspondent of Atlantic Media's Government Executive Media Group in 2019; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, Charlie Clark embraced his role as a public authority on Arlington history and culture, writing his celebrated "Our Man in Arlington" column with the Falls Church News-Press for more than a decade as well as several books exploring his hometown's past, including Hidden History of Arlington County, Lost Arlington County, and Arlington County Chronicles; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark's writing and lectures on Arlington were effused with his love for the place where he had grown up and lived most of his life, offering many a deeper understanding of how the county had transformed over the years; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark was also the author of George Washington Parke Custis: A Rarefied Life in America's First Family, the first full biography to examine the life of the prominent Virginian, and Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press, a history of the local paper that has served the residents of Falls Church since 1991; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark gave generously of his time in support of his community through his involvement with various local civic organizations, including as a board member of the Arlington Historical Society; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark was honored for his contributions to the preservation of Arlington's history with an induction into the Yorktown High School Hall of Fame in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Charlie Clark will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife, Ellen; his children, Elizabeth and Susannah, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Charles Stuart Clark, a venerated journalist and cherished member of the Arlington County community whose kind and genial nature brightened countless lives; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Charles Stuart Clark as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.