Clark James McCarron

Born in Chicago on February 3, 1950 to Bob and Lorraine McCarron. Died in Toronto on August 1, 2025. Mourned by his partner, Gail Knox, his children, Molly (Dylan Reid), Gabe, and Meg (Alex Clifford), his brother Bob and sister-in-law Joanne McCarron, granddaughters Nina and Mae, cousins, nieces and nephew, and his many close friends.

Clark moved to Toronto as a young man with Katherine, the mother of his children, but never lost his earnest midwestern friendliness. He developed deep friendships that lasted decades. Over the years, he cared for ailing friends, and they in turn showed up in numbers for him over the last eight months. As friend or stranger, he was always welcoming, breaking ice and lifting spirits with his witty quips and good-natured attitude. He delighted his children and others with goofy faces, funny walks, dad jokes, and tickle attacks.

He had many careers over his lifetime – branch office manager, folk music talent booker, retail distribution – but always identified most strongly with his time as a sound recordist for television and film, a role he discovered after a next-door neighbour attended film school and featured the neighbourhood kids and Clark’s music in his graduation project. Clark’s work in film and TV took him to Zimbabwe, Kimberley, B.C., and Rocky Bay First Nation, among other cold and/or exotic places.

And he spent his time on other interests, too, from ham radio to cycling to race car driving to cooking to building a boat (never finished) in the garage.

His true loves, apart from his partner and children, were constant: music and baseball. He discovered rock and roll in high school, and played guitar in bands, in the post-Vatican II folk music ensemble at church, at open mike nights on the Danforth, and, finally, until shortly before his death, with friends as part of a weekly Zoom music exchange he’d set up. He was always learning, teaching himself jazz guitar and new songs.

Though he grew up as a White Sox fan, he supported the Blue Jays from day 1, taking in games from the grandstands at Exhibition Stadium, through to his very last days. One of the highlights of his stay in the palliative care unit at Sunnybrook earlier this year was being able to watch every game of the season, starting with spring training. He said a couple of weeks ago that he liked baseball because in the face of all the other changes in his life and the world in general, it had always stayed the same. You knew what you would get.

We are grateful to all the medical professionals who attended to him over the last year, in particular Marcus and Dr. Selby in the palliative care unit at Sunnybrook. A celebration is being planned for September 6th. In the meantime, to honour his memory, cheer on the Blue Jays. Watch a Marx Brothers movie. Skip down the street. Share your enthusiasms.