John Francis Clark, Jr., passed away on Monday, May 6, 2024.  Jay, as he was affectionately known, was born on March 12, 1957, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, to John Francis Clark Sr. and Cynthia Laura Clark.

Growing up in the Boston area, Jay decided early on to join the Navy. Jay started out as an Operations Specialist (OS) and rose the rank of Chief Petty Officer (by rank, top ten percent of the Navy) and was further promoted to Chief Warrant Officer where he rose to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Four (CWO4). During his rise through the ranks, Jay served in a number of duty stations ashore and afloat, including overseas, retiring from Naval Special Warfare Unit THREE (NAVSPECWAR THREE) in Bahrain.

Jay was highly decorated in his Navy career and afterwards.  In the Navy, Jay earned the Navy Commendation Medal ( six awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (four awards), the National Defense Service Medal (three awards), the Southwest Asia Service Medal (three awards), the Good Conduct Medal (three awards), the Rifle Marksmanship (Expert), the Pistol Marksmanship Medal (Expert), and many other command and unit accommodations.

After his Navy career, Jay settled in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he continued to serve but this time as a civilian contractor.  He served very successfully for many years with KBR, Inc., at the Fleet Air Surveillance Facility- Virginia Capes in the US Fleet Forces Atlantic Exercise Coordination Center in Virginia Beach. There, Jay also excelled, including special recognition by the International Test and Evaluation Association for an article with colleagues on Advanced Systems Test and Evaluation on DOD Ranges.

On September 6, 2008, Jay married Krystyna Koziol, of Opole, Poland. Together, they built and enjoyed many friendships with neighbors and friends. Jay always enjoyed entertaining and often hosted neighbors and friends for wonderful gatherings at the house to enjoy each other, great food and drinks, and the backyard lake. Jay also enjoyed time hunting and cooking out with “the guys” at his hunt club in Halifax County, Virginia.

Jay is survived by his wife Krystyna; his sons Eric (Jamie) Clark of Commerce City, Colorado and Matthew (Nicole) Clark of Pocomoke City, Maryland; Mother, Cynthia Clark of Boston Massachusetts; Sister Sandra (Manfred) Albrecht of Boston, Massachusetts; Brother William “Billy” Clark of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; his four beautiful grandchildren Melissa, Nathan, Aiden and Simonne, and many other dear friends here and abroad.

A celebration of life with military honors for Jay will be held at 4pm on Friday, May 31, 2024 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 1900 Pavilion Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, US.