Henry “Harry” Clark, 20, passed away on July 3 after a courageous battle with a craniopharyngioma brain tumor. The Wellesley native’s strength, charm, and fortitude inspired those around him, including those he met while a student navigating college life at Assumption last year. Diagnosed with the rare brain tumor at age 5, Clark suffered a stroke in the third grade, which forced him to relearn how to walk and talk; during his senior year of high school, he lost his sight due to his tumor and a cyst. Clark suffered another stroke this past February. Despite a life filled with multiple surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, and countless procedures, Clark enjoyed life to the fullest. Wise beyond his years, he lived by the personal mantra: a loss of sight is never a loss of vision.
Clark graduated with honors from Wellesley High School, where he served as class vice president his sophomore year and served on the board of the Youth in Philanthropy program. Clark participated in a youth panel at the Massachusetts Commission on the Blind conference and testified before the state legislature on funding for the blind; advocated for racial equality, traveling to the South as part of his study of civil rights and presented a keynote speech on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; rode the Pan Mass Challenge twice on the back of a tandem bike as well as managed a summer league baseball team and the Wellesley High School girls’ varsity basketball team for four years. On Senior Night, Clark received the Helen Stewart Award for his generosity, care, and dedication to others, as well as the Coach Seaver Memorial Scholarship Award for commitment, courage, and character.
