It is with an everlasting love that we announce the passing of Christopher Edwin Clarke, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and a cherished, lifelong friend to many. Chris died peacefully in his sleep at home on April 26, 2026, at the age of 72, leaving behind a legacy of humility, loyalty, humor and love.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on September 18, 1953, Chris was cherished as son number three (of five children) to Gladys Wager and Lawrence Clyde Clarke, III, of Greenwood, Virginia.

Chris attended St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville from first through eighth grade, then attended Henley Middle School and Albemarle High School, graduating in 1971. He was honored to have received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, but ultimately opted to attend Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, where he graduated in 1975 with a B.A. in Political Science.

Having grown up in an orchardist's family, Chris and his brothers worked from a young age in the dozen or more apple and peach orchards managed by his family, both to the west in the Shenandoah Valley and along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, growing and marketing fruit throughout central Virginia for many decades. Even as a teenager, he appreciated the immeasurable learning opportunities afforded to him by apprenticing under those he respectfully knew as the "Old Timers," whose teachings and stories made Chris an avid student of local history, which he enjoyed sharing throughout his life. As a young adult, Chris was already tasked with hiring, coordinating and managing the crews of orchard laborers, as well as regularly driving truckloads of peaches in summer and apples in fall and winter, to market, making some devoted, longtime friends over his years in the fruit industry.

Eventually, as a young father of two, Chris made the life-altering decision to change career paths when his daughter Ashley, and son Christopher were little, leaving the orchard business in 1988 to begin his inspired and artistic career as a stone mason, for which he will always be remembered. Together with a resourceful partner who had both an informal sense of business acumen and connections in the local stone masons' community, Chris successfully co-founded his masonry business, honing his technical skills over the years and developing his signature style. A decade and a half later, son Christopher showed keen, early interest and aptitude in the work his Pop did, and joined him on the job, where over the years, the "Younger" gradually grew from student to master, eventually becoming the senior partner in the business, to his father's heartfelt pride! The father and son team continually expanded their skill sets and artistry, evolving complimentary styles, and specializing whenever possible, in stone masonry using hand selected, native fieldstone and boulders, and laying phenomenally tightly-fit walls, foundations, fireplaces and chimneys, pillars and property entryways, displaying the natural, uncut faces of the rock, blending colors and composition, textures, sizes and shapes, while employing minimal mortar—a style which notably distinguished them as masters in the trade, meticulously creating a finished appearance of dry stacked fieldstone structures. Chris and Christopher collaboratively created many of the iconic walls and pillars, and a stunning fireplace at Devil's Backbone Brewery in Nelson County, and the substantial fireplaces at King Family Vineyard in Crozet, as well as a vast portfolio of diverse masonry projects for other acclaimed local masons and builders, for commercial and professional businesses and private homeowners, family members and friends throughout the local areas.

During his lifetime, from a young age, Chris developed a notable intrigue with firearms, primarily inspired by time spent with his Granddaddy Clarke, who had dealt in firearms (among all of the other things) he sold in his ship chandlery in Norfolk, and then later in life in his coal business in Roxboro, North Carolina where Chris spent quality time with his grandfather, often shooting at targets set up in his grandfather's coal yard. Chris took keen interest in safety and operations of various models of rifles, shotguns, revolvers and other pistols. He was an avid student of historical developments in weaponry with a deep interest in firearms from the Civil War and Antebellum eras, eventually becoming self-taught—until it seemed he possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the topic. While watching any historical movie or tv Western, Chris could and did readily recognize every weapon on the screen, sometimes pointing out that a specific "prop gun" in some scene was inauthentic to the precise year of that engagement or reenactment. And he could open his reference books and prove his point.

Having married twice, Chris raised his family of two children before—decades later—remarrying in his "young" fifties, and so, has been loved by a broad family of "in-laws and outlaws," children, grandchildren, and three Clarke great-grandchildren. But, while still a young dad, Chris enjoyed the special father-daughter outings he had with his little Ashley, fishing regularly from the edge of the pond, where she excitedly learned to reel in the perch that persisted to pester the worm on her hook, and eventually fishing from a johnboat out in said pond! They also had such fun camping together—father and daughter seeking relief from the dreadful summer heat while Mom settled a restless baby brother at home. The thrill was there to be had when Dad and his little "Sugar Plum" slid down a dauntingly tall water slide, each in rapid fire succession, cannonballing one after the other into the lake at Shenandoah Acres over in the valley. By the time young Christopher was big enough to sit in a boat, Big Chris enjoyed father and son outings, fishing at the pond, and eventually paddling rivers together, along with many enthusiastic and devoted canoeing friends.

Chris's most recent years of family involvement notably included his delight in regular, monthly camping adventures with his young grandchildren on the property, teaching them to build, light, and cook on a campfire and on a camping stove, tending sausages and fried apples and flipping pancakes outdoors, and in the summertime, hand-cranking homemade peach ice cream. He took special delight in gardening with little grandchildren, "hunting green beans" and grubbing potatoes out of the ground, showing them how to safely use sharp hand tools, and teaching and watching them ride bikes.

Chris's longtime pride in his firstborn daughter and her growing family, and in his son and their stone masonry work together for over two decades, were pinnacle highlights and cumulative joys for him. He often reflected on and spontaneously declared to family and friends how tremendously fortunate he was to live nearly his entire life in this beautiful agricultural countryside in Greenwood, and even in older age, to be so closely surrounded by his extended and expanded family and his many close friends. Recently, it dawned on Chris, that for quite a while now, he has been the fortunate soul to be able to share his wealth of local history and heritage, becoming in fact, cherished as one of the "Old Timers."

Chris is survived by his first wife, Jan (and Jim), mother of their two children, as well as by his daughter, Ashley, and her three grown children—Landon (and his daughter, Noelle), Quinton (and Indigo, and their sons, Ellis and Oliver) and Avery. He is also survived by his son Christopher (and his wife Meredith). Chris leaves behind his devoted, loving wife of 14 years, Alexandra "Alex" LaRue Clarke, and her two sons, Benjamin Davis (and his wife Tara, and their daughter Molly, and son Jack), and Reid Davis (and his wife Waverly, and their twin children—daughter Matilda, and son Rhodes).

Chris was predeceased by his parents, Gladys and "Larry" Clarke, and by his eldest brother, Lawrence, but is survived by his brother, Paul Clarke (and his wife Loi), and his two sisters, Beth Clarke Alley (and her husband Dan), and Louise Clarke Goodling (and her husband Jace), and their respective families. Chris is also survived by his "siblings-in-law," Caleb LaRue (and his wife, Bet), and by Monica LaRue Camfield (and her husband, Steve—a very dear and close friend to Chris), and their respective families.

May God bless this fine man, Chris, and welcome him home!
A brief service of thanksgiving and celebration for Chris will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Greenwood at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2026. All are heartily welcome and invited to join the family there.

Submitted by Sam Clarke.