Sidney Clifford "Jim" Slark

Sidney Clifford Slark (called Jim), aged 93, died August 31, 2018 after a brief illness at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, NH. He lived a life of joy and love and service and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

He was born on January 27, 1925 in London, England, the son of William and Caroline (Smith) Slark.

Jim Slark grew up in Shepperton, a suburb of London, the third youngest of nine children. His Christian name was in honor of a family friend with whom his mother had a falling out shortly after his birth. This led her to nicknaming him Jimmy or Jim and he was called this his whole life. The family home on Old Charlton Road is still there and is the center of family life for the Slarks still living in Shepperton.

Jimmy finished public school at the age of 14 and began working in factories and at the Shepperton Film Studios with his older siblings. At the age of 17 the Second World War had begun and he volunteered to serve. As he was still a minor he had to obtain his mother's permission. While completing the paperwork to enlist he discovered that his given name was actually Sidney, but he decided to continue going by Jim. He headed to Perth, Scotland for basic training.

Jimmy was assigned to the Black Watch, a brotherhood of which he was enormously proud. He chose not to share much of his experiences during the war with his family, but we do know that he deployed in France and landed on Gold beach in Normandy on D+6. After V-E day his unit was assigned to a Displaced Persons camp in Celle, Germany. There, he worked to transport the refugees to processing areas in the hopes of helping them return to their homes across the continent.

In the course of this work he met Katherine Kisielius (called Kitty), the daughter of a Scottish mother and Lithuanian father who had been displaced from their home in Lithuania by the advancing Soviet Army. She didn't speak English; he didn't speak Lithuanian, but they both spoke a little French, and attraction often doesn't need a common tongue. They were married on January 11, 1947 in the camp.

The war changed the landscape of Europe and back home in Shepperton there were not many opportunities. Jimmy brought his bride home but housing and work were scarce. A few years later their daughter Maria was born and a few years after that their son Sidney was born. Jim once described the time following the war as one of great uncertainty and upheaval. People were moving all around Europe looking for work so it didn't seem strange that Jim and Kitty would seek a new life in America. They packed up their few belongings and moved themselves and their two young children to New Hampshire. He had $40 in his pocket.

Life was difficult for new immigrants in the early fifties. Jim felt strongly that he needed to fit in, so he worked on losing his English accent. Both he and Kitty found work in the mills that line the Merrimack river in Manchester. Some years later their daughter, Virginia was born.

Through their hard work Jim and Kitty made a good life for themselves and their children. They were able to buy a house, and even travel a bit. Jim valued family very much and wrote thousands of letters to his siblings and their families as they began to emigrate around the world. He welcomed family visits and was known to drive guests around for hours. Niagara Falls was a favorite destination.

When grandchildren came along he was an eager carer and loved supporting them in all their hobbies and events. He and Kitty would attend every concert, every track meet, every soccer game, and every lacrosse game they could. They showed their love by being present in their grandchildren's lives. Jim was a playful and generous grandfather.

He was always pleased as punch to be included in family gatherings, to socialize with friends and meet new people. He loved dancing with his wife and once famously danced well past midnight at a New Year's Eve celebration in Paris, to the delight of the band. He enjoyed music and had a warm singing voice. He read the paper and watched the news and had a bright, inquisitive mind all his life. He loved to laugh, told mostly innocent stories, and enjoyed getting in a good zinger around the Thanksgiving dinner table. He once described King Henry VIII's cod-piece on a suit of armor at Hampton Court Palace as protection for "the royal cluster."
His time with the Black Watch during the war gave him a life-long obsession with military music and parades, bagpipes and drums, especially Scottish Tattoos. He loved travelling to see festivals and even attended the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Jim made as many trips back to England as time and funds would allow. It mattered to him to stay connected with his siblings, their families, and his homeland. In 2000 he travelled to Normandy and visited Gold Beach where he had landed during the war more than 50 years earlier. He remarked that it was hard to reconcile the place he saw that day, calm and sunny, with the frightening, battle-scarred beach from long ago. How far he had come.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 71 years, Kitty, his children and their spouses, Maria Ashton, Sidney Slark (Susan), and Virginia Larkin (David), and his grandchildren Brittany Larkin (Seth Davenport), Christopher Slark, Cullen Larkin, and Jeffrey Slark.

Sadly, all of his siblings passed away before him. But he has many loving family members around the world: Janet Slark and her children Paul and Gary and their spouses and children, David Channon and his wife and children, Victor Slark and his wife and children, Peter Slark and his children, all in England; Georgina Smethills and her husband and children in Australia; Caroline Titus and her husband and children in California, Christopher Slark and his wife in California, Fred Slark in Nevada and his children in Colorado. They were all so precious to him. Life was precious to him. He lived fully with integrity and joy. May he rest in peace.