Richard W. Clarke Jr., 95, was longtime Katonah resident and Navy veteran

Richard Warner Clarke Jr. died Sept. 18, 2026. He was 95.

The son of Richard and Catherine (Cartan) Clarke, he was born in Katonah. He lived there 58 years before moving to Somers, and then Mystic, Conn., with his wife of 67 years, Lua (Whitaker). He spent every summer since 1959 in Weekapaug, R.I. 

Clarke attended the Rippowam School in Bedford and graduated from Canterbury School and, in 1952, Amherst College. He then served in the U.S. Navy as first lieutenant and gunnery officer on the  destroyer USS Cotton.

His business career was spent with Richard W. Clarke & Co. for 20 years, and Ingalls & Snyder for 20 years. In retirement, he spent many years refinishing furniture.

Clarke served on various committees during his lifetime, most recently as head of the CCRCs in Connecticut. He was a former member of the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club and a member of the Weekapaug Golf Club. His family said he loved golf and gardening, and did the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. They said he’ll also be remembered for his celebratory poems and delicious Bloody Marys. 

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters Cathy and her husband, Bill Sondheim, and Martha and her husband, Jim Kiley; his son Peter and his wife, Kimberly; seven grandchildren; four great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at the Weekapaug Chapel, 105 Noyes Neck Road, Westerly, R.I. For online condolences, visit www.buckler-johnston.com.