Remembering PJC

On Sunday, May 29, 2005 a group of Patrick Clark’s friends and family gathered at NOLS Pacific Northwest to celebrate his life and send him on to his new adventure in “good style”. Patrick passed away on May 6, 2005 after a valiant two and a half year battle with esophageal cancer.

Patrick was one of the smartest people I have ever known, although he was always quick to point out that his wife, Lysanne was the brains in the family. Patrick earned a B.S. degree in Math and Physics at the University of Wisconsin before entering the graduate program in Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. While at Cornell Patrick worked on projects involved with the Viking mission to Mars.

After a stint teaching at Colgate University, Patrick began his NOLS career in 1984 as an instructor, working mountaineering and sea kayaking courses. In 1990 Patrick became NOLS director of information systems.

Patrick was a visionary. Information systems at NOLS in 1990 consisted of a few IBM Selectrics and one desktop computer. Where we all saw index cards, file cabinets and manila folders, Patrick saw a rich database that would allow the school to stay in touch with our graduates worldwide. He saw a world wide web that would help NOLS broadcast its educational message. He envisioned phones, computers and VOIP allowing all of NOLS far-flung educational centers to communicate in real time. Patrick was more than just “vision”. He put action to these dreams and made it happen.

Patrick was a conspirator. He would enlist a group of people, plant some ideas, give them some tools and let them go at it. In the mid 1990s Patrick sat down in my office and began trying to explain the internet to me. He had registered a domain for NOLS, www.nol.edu. I wasn’t sure that I really got it, but Patrick’s enthusiasm was infectious. It was hard not to be excited. Soon Patrick had his development team pulled together—me, a history major; T’bo, a graduate of the 82nd Airborne; Tommy, a journalist; and Dan, a NOLS instructor and biologist by education. In a few months nolseduuat.nols.edu was born. It was one of the first 6,000 websites in the U.S.!

Patrick was an adventurer and he loved a challenge. He traveled to Antarctica, Australia, Puerto Rico, Baffin Island, the Waddington Range, Chile, Mexico, the North Cascades and Wyoming. Patrick approached his cancer in the same way he approached his backcountry adventures and his exploration of information technology. He assembled a team, learned everything he could, laughed a lot and didn’t give up.

Patrick lives. He is alive every time an email moves through the NOLS system confirming that all of the students have arrived in Patagonia for their course. He is alive every time a young person learns about adventure through a visit to the NOLS website. Patrick lives every time a NOLS instructor who worked in the field with him teaches an astronomy class.

Patrick lives on in all of us who had the amazing opportunity to learn from him, laugh with him and conspire with him to make NOLS a better place. Patrick had spirit and that spirit is with each of us.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director