
Hon. John E. Clark
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The Honorable John Eugene Clark, 90, died peacefully on February 13, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. He was born in Austin, Texas on June 8, 1933 to parents, Marian May Gray and Charles Carroll Clark. In a professional career spanning over 60 years, John Clark divided his time between private law practice and public service as a federal prosecutor, as a state appellate judge, and as a member of federal and state administrative boards and commissions. He was also the author of a regional, non-fiction bestseller, The Fall of the Duke of Duval (Eakin Press, 1995), as well as a number of law journal articles on the False Claims Act.
Born in Austin, Texas, in 1933, John earned a B.S. in Business Administration at Lamar University in 1954. In 1955, he married the love of his life, Carolyn Tevis of Beaumont, Texas. He served a two-year tour of active duty with the United States Army in the Far East. Upon returning from military service, he worked in private industry for three years before entering the University of Texas School of Law and earning an LL.B. in 1961. He was an enthusiastic lifelong member of the Texas Exes, and held membership number 602. The connection between the University of Texas and the Clark family began in 1883 with the founding of the University and John's great-grandfather, James Benjamin Clark, first as a member of the Board of Regents and then as University Proctor. The descriptions from family and friends of these two men are one in the same; a mentor, honorable, ethical, kind, brilliant, thoughtful and exceedingly humble.
From 1961 to 1969, he practiced law in Austin. In the summer of 1969, he accepted an appointment in the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C. There, he was responsible for investigating and prosecuting federal election fraud and illegal campaign finance cases. Returning to Texas in 1971, he served for the next four years as First Assistant U.S. Attorney under then-U.S. Attorney William S. Sessions. In 1975, President Gerald Ford appointed Clark to succeed Sessions as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Clark served as a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. He was a founding member and past president of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys.
After the change of national administrations in 1977, he practiced law in San Antonio until in 1981 when Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr., appointed him to the state's Fourth Court of Appeals. He returned to the private practice of law in San Antonio in 1983 and was Of Counsel to Goode Casseb Jones Riklin Choate & Watson, P.C. Since 1992 he devoted his time to qui tam (anti-fraud) litigation under the federal False Claims Act and corresponding state laws. He gained a national reputation as an expert in this area of law. He served as a director of Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, a Section 501(c)3 tax-exempt corporation dedicated to combating fraud against the government through the promotion and use of the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.
Judge Clark served as a member and chairman of the Advisory Board of the National Institute of Corrections (an agency of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons); as a member and vice-chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission; as a member of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education; as a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles; and as a member of the Association of Attorney-Mediators Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution.
Judge Clark was also a member of numerous Bar Associations and Professional Memberships, including the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, the Texas Bar Foundation, the San Antonio Bar Association, and the San Antonio Bar Foundation. He was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas.
In 2013, John was honored by his colleagues and peers with the Joe Frazier Brown, Sr. Award of Excellence by the San Antonio Bar Association - This award recognizes an attorney who exemplifies all that is good about the legal profession. He or she should demonstrate the highest level of professionalism, exceptional skills as a counselor and advocate and such personal attributes as honor, integrity, service and intelligence. He or she should be a model of the Texas Lawyer's Creed and an inspiration for others in serving clients and fulfilling their responsibility to the legal system.
There may be some positions or accolades that Judge Clark did for the great state of Texas and the nation that have been missed here, but as a humble man who rarely talked about his accomplishments, it was a challenge to remember everything.
John Clark, also lovingly known by the family as Gene, was not all work and no play. His biggest pride was his family and he enjoyed family gatherings, vacations and travel. He loved University of Texas football, baseball and golf. A love of photography was passed down from his grandfather and he passed that love on to all his children. He was an extraordinary and prolific writer. He was an expert paper airplane maker. Bedtime stories of Fred Camel for his children and grandchildren were in the works for another book. Fishing was probably one of his most favorite pastimes.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Charles Carroll Jr. Gene is survived by his adoring wife, Carolyn Tevis Clark; children, Karen C. Cork (Adam), Leslie C. Sartori (Michael), John C. Clark, and Charles W. Clark (Millie); grandchildren, Matthew A. Sartori (Carly), Reid C. Sartori (Bianca), and Hannah S. Messerli (Blake); great-grandchildren, Gerard M. Sartori, Catherine R. Sartori, Maya N. Sartori, Tara R. Sartori, Hunter C. Messerli, Audrey C. Sartori, and Olivia Carolyn Messerli; sister and brother-in-law, Edith L. Clark and John Schneider, cousin Don Gray, brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Ronald and Alyce Tevis and Nancy Scott, and numerous nieces and a nephew. The family will receive friends from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church.

