Clark, John W.

Jesuit Father John W. Clark, 87, died on Dec. 19, 2012, at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, Calif. A former Provincial Superior of the California Province and longtime university professor and administrator, he had been a member of the Jesuit order for 66 years and a priest for 53 years.

Known by many as “Jack,” Fr. Clark was born in Los Angeles on July 1, 1925. He attended Loyola High School and Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Los Gatos in 1946. During his years of study, he earned an M.A. in economics from Gonzaga University, taught history and sociology at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, 1953-55, and was ordained a priest in Hollywood, Calif., in 1959. He received his doctorate in business administration from UCLA in 1965 and served as professor of business and as academic vice president of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. His specialty was business ethics and he was the author of a well-received book, “Religion and the Moral Standards of American Businessmen.”

In 1982 he was named Provincial Superior of the California Jesuits, a post he held until 1988. At the completion of his term, he became academic vice president, and later, provost, of the University of San Francisco. He was very active in educational circles, serving on the boards of trustees of Jesuit schools and on national and regional committees.

In 1997 his ministry took a different turn as he accepted a position as a spiritual director for priests at the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer in Los Angeles. He also served for a time as associate pastor at St. Gerard Majella Church, Culver City, Calif., before retiring to Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, in 2007.

He is survived by a sister, Kathleen Gerlits of Trinity Center, Calif.