A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, July 14th at 4 pm at the Vancouver Convention Centre (West) in the Level Two Ocean Foyer, with reception to follow. Contributions of photographs of Clark to be shared at the event are appreciated and may be uploaded to https://tinyurl.com/4akfxkdh
In keeping with Clark’s vibrant personality, please feel free to join the family in wearing colourful attire. Donations to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation or The Salvation Army in Clark’s memory will be gratefully received.
CLARK B. LEDINGHAM
Clark passed away peacefully on April 17, 2022 after a brief but determined battle with pancreatic cancer. Born on September 22, 1961, literally on the heels of his twin brother, Grant, in Hamilton, Ontario, the boys grew up in Mississauga alongside their younger sister, Ann, and parents, Robert and Audry Ledingham. The Erindale Woodlands area was then a young boy’s paradise, which the twins named “B.C.” for “bicycle country”, collecting snakes and bringing home orphaned baby racoons to raise and later release in Algonquin Park, where they also enjoyed boy scout canoe and camping trips. In high school, Clark excelled in advanced lifeguarding competitions, and spent many happy summers working at the public pools near his home.
After studying Economics and Philosophy at the University of Toronto, Clark proceeded to Osgoode Hall Law School, where he met his wife, Nicola-Jane, while volunteering as Orientation Co-Chair for her incoming year. Clark managed the stress and general oppression of law school by devoting himself to many extracurricular activities, including the Osgoode curling team in the “Law Games”, the Osgoode Touch Football League, the annual “Mock Trial” musical revue, pub nights and formal dances, as well as being artist-in-residence for creation of all manner of colourful hand-drawn and painted promotional banners that hung prominently in the common areas. In a defining moment in their early relationship, Clark admitted to Nicola-Jane that he had failed to take notes for her as requested in a Constitutional Law class, offering instead a colourful half-page cartoon montage of various constitutionally enshrined rights and freedoms.
Although Clark landed a coveted articling position at Weir & Foulds on Bay Street, another “B.C.” beckoned and he moved to Vancouver to marry Nicola-Jane. They settled in the Edgemont Village community of North Vancouver where they raised their children, Caitlin and Evan, and enjoyed a busy family life supporting their endeavours at Collingwood School, spending soggy evenings and weekends on the soccer pitch with Tessa, the family’s beloved Golden Retriever, and participating in community life at North Shore Alliance Church. Clark was also a longtime proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous and had many friends among the fellowship who were dear to him.
Clark re-articled at Russell & DuMoulin (as it then was) and spent many productive years there, making lasting friendships and honing his skills in commercial and municipal litigation and product liability for General Motors, before transitioning into the new and developing realm of privacy law. After a season with Boughton Law, the lure of practising in-house took Clark to a local real estate developer and a creative agency before finding his perfect fit with B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) as its first General Counsel. Clark was in his element at PavCo, leveraging his skills in problem-solving, risk mitigation, negotiation and privacy to pioneer the role amid the hurly-burly of a busy and highly visible Provincial Crown Corporation and develop an in-house legal team with vision, perseverence, good humour and pragmatism.
Considering Clark’s creative talents and diverse interests, it is remarkable that he became a lawyer at all. So many things were deeply interesting and worthy of study and/or collection: Japanese cooking knives, stereo components of all shapes and sizes, over 4,000 LPs mostly from the ‘70s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s, retro timepieces, cufflinks and neckties, thrift store designer suits that amazed his tailor, and large reinforced Ziploc bags of sand retrieved from beaches around the world wherever the family holidayed (Nicola-Jane and the kids quickly learned to choose another lineup at airport security when traveling home).
Although he was highly skilled and enjoyed his work, Clark’s professional life served as a means to a more personal and interesting end. Knowing and being known within a community and being of service to the people around him gave Clark deep joy and satisfaction - from hobnobbing with the ladies at the Convention Centre laundry service, to taking friends for lunch at the VCC’s highbrow cafeteria, the “Crew’s Nest”, to arranging behind-the-scenes tours of BC Place. Famously quipping “If it runs, I’ll chase it”, he was kind and generous with his time, helping friends pursue deadbeat debtors, adopt cats from foreign jurisdictions, defend unfounded and frightening Small Claims (and some not-so-small), and navigate sensitive family disputes, among many others. Self-described as “terminally curious” and never shy, Clark had a knack for striking up lively conversations with complete strangers, usually by asking them a leading question about their motorcycle, funky T-shirt or unusual tattoo, and he delighted in taking photos for groups of tourists. But he was never happier than being in the company of friends in his home, entertaining with good and plentiful food (especially if he was behind the BBQ or pizza oven) and music. And even better if there was dancing.
Clark will be dearly missed by Nicola-Jane, Caitlin (Taylor), and Evan, his sister Ann Moxley (Randy) in Phoenix, AZ and his lifelong friends Jim and Christine Hewitt of Mississauga, ON, as well as his extended family of in-laws, niece and nephews, coworkers and many friends. He is predeceased by his parents, Robert and Audry Ledingham, of South Surrey, B.C. and his brother, Grant Ledingham, of Redondo Beach, California. A Celebration of Life open and welcome to all who wish to attend and remember Clark is being planned for a date to be confirmed shortly. Flowers are gratefully declined.
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