John Ernest Clarke (4 Jan 1946 - 24 Apr 2017)

With fond remberances of a really nice man.

With fondest rememberances of a true gentleman.

In 2005, our capital plans had run into a brick wall when our then project manager vanished in the closing stages of a vitally important feasibility study. Responding to my MayDay call, Steve Tompkins thought this sounded like a job for ‘Uncle John’. Robert and I went to visit John, and after seven hours at his kitchen table, we were back on track. John and I worked round the clock for a week to finish the strategic end of the feasibility study on time, and the rest is Stirling Prize-winning history. John was a great project manager, and an unfailing source of wisdom and strength to us all throughout the development and building of the Everyman. More than this, he was a gorgeous man, who lived an enormously full and happy life. He was and is an inspiration All of us at the Everyman will miss his wisdom and kindness, and everyone who works and plays here as long as it stands will owe him immense gratitude. Much love from us all to Olga and the family.

Lovely man. Awesome family. You will be very missed, John.

John will be so sadly missed - such a very special man!

Dear Olga,

We were desperately sorry to hear of Johns passing. We’ve lost a good friend and a trusted colleague, whose knowledge and wisdom we relied on for over twenty years - we will all miss him terribly, and send our condolences to you and your family. We can only imagine the loss that you must be feeling, but we know that the wonderful projects that John worked on with us and with other practices will stand as a lasting legacy of valuable contribution to architecture, and we hope that the fond memories that we all have of John will be of some comfort at this difficult time.

We first worked with John on the Royal Court Theatre, which launched our theatre work and set the scene for everything that followed in our working lives together. John’s guiding hand and generosity of spirit was invaluable then and has remained one of the defining qualities on the many projects we shared since then. A highlight was definitely the Liverpool Everyman Theatre, where we worked closely with John for seven years on the evolution of the building. We were delighted that you could both join us in celebrating winning the Stirling Prize for a genuine team effort, an evening that will always be a high spot in our professional careers. We also enjoyed working with John on the evolution of the NT Future project and the new foyer for the Bristol Old Vic, which is currently on site, and most recently on a major project to remodel the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. His untimely death has robbed us of his ongoing support on these projects and the wisdom and calm presence that he has brought to all of his professional relationships.

John with his project manager’s hat on was always firm but fair. With him at the helm we felt safe in the knowledge that, if anyone could, he would navigate round the many obstacles that stand in the way of building good architecture. He always understood that quality design and quality construction was the legacy of a building project and would ensure that this was an area of the project was never compromised. His role in this respect was essential to the quality of the buildings that we worked on with John and the many design awards that they have won. We will always be grateful to him for his support and encouragement.

Beyond the confines of professional relationships, we counted John as a friend whose company we always enjoyed. His charm and good humour, particularly in the face of the challenges he faced with his mobility later in life, was inspiring and life affirming.

With all our best wishes,

Steve Tompkins, Graham Haworth, Toby Johnson, Roger Watts, Lucy Picardo and Will Mesher at Haworth Tompkins

I have known John for more then 45 years. He was an exceptional man, very clever, very thoughtful, warm and friendly, caring and deeply interested in wellbeing of all people around him. He always found a free time to help and to advice. He possessed a great ability to analyse seemingly complicated problems and logically arrived to successful solutions. Not surprising that he was so popular among his friends and colleagues. I always admired him for his unfettered optimism, frequent humour, companionship and the brave way he faced his terrible illness. In all those long years, I never heard him to complain.

It has been a privilege to be counted among his friends and I shall miss him greatly. He will live in my memory as my best friend for ever.

John was my dear friend for 20 years, he was a very special person to me and will be sorely missed. My deepest and sincere condolences to Olga, Tamara, James and Petra. From Yavuz, Sibel & family

John was my dear friend for 20 years, he was a very special person to me and will be sorely missed. My deepest and sincere condolences to Olga, Tamara, James and Petra. From Yavuz, Sibel & family

John was my dear friend for nearly 20 years, he was a very special person to me and will be sorely missed. My sincere condolences to Olga, Tamara, James and Petra at this very sad time. Yavuz, Sibel & family. Xx

A message from Kyoko:
Sad we lost the head of Clarke family, John Clarke the one holding all his family members and relatives tight together. He and Olga created the comfortable place anyone could pop in and be welcomed.

Sad to see this John’s wonderful smiling face, he was still so handsome and young. I could not stop thinking John wished to live longer. John had lived with the illness for latter of his life, but Ernie and I had never heard his complaint.
I have never seen him in bed in a hospital, still now I can hardly accept him gone so suddenly.
But as Japanese wishes for the way to die, John was very lucky one. He had been in the hospital for only 17 days and gone. He didn’t suffer for a long time, this could make people’s memories of him beautifying.

On behalf of Ernie I thank Olga and family, his friends and colleagues for looking after John so he could continue his work to the end.

I apologise I am not attending the funeral. I was fortunate to be with Tamara and Matthew in Japan when John first went to hospital - sending messages and love. I hope to come to England again next year to catch up with everyone and remember John.
Kyoko Clarke

John is missed by us all at Acuity. Sincere condolences to Olga and the family

With our sincerest condolences, Monica and Bambos Manoras

So many positive memories of working with John on cultural projects - always clear, knowledgeable, insightful and driven by his own love of the arts. His determination was an example to all, as was the support of Olga. He is hugely missed and I send sincere sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues.

Such a sad loss - thought John would go on forever. I will never forget the day I spent with John visiting a theatre near Milton Keynes. Particularly trying to keep up with John as he sped off in his wheelchair and did battle with the double decker buses in the bus stand and bus lane outside Euston station. It must have looked like s scene out of a sitcom!! RIP JEC

We're sorry for your loss, thinking of you all. Jon, Elaine & Sophia