Newell Henry Clark, age 32, died quietly on January 13 in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was a senior computer science major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, Newell grew up in White River Junction, Vermont. He attended the Upper Valley Waldorf School in Quechee from kindergarten through eighth grade and graduated from Hartford High School in 2010.

At Hartford High, he was a member of the Honors Program and the Varsity Math Team, winning the “Most Improved Student” award in his sophomore year as well as the Floyd McPhetres Math Award for 2010. In 2009-10, he competed with the Vermont State Math Team and held summer internships at the American Precision Museum in Windsor.

Although Newell’s lifelong struggle with neurological issues often led to disappointment and bouts of depression, he repeatedly rallied to make a fresh start. Following a first brief stint at Worcester Polytechnic, he worked in retail, enjoyed two temporary assignments with a research and analytics firm, and taught himself the computer language C#, before obtaining certification in Full Stack Web Development at a computing boot camp in Redmond, WA. Driving for Uber in Manchester and Lyft in Boston brought new perspectives and a stock of stories with which he regaled friends and family. Throughout this period, he found creative outlets in sharing his software contributions on GitHub, playing Minecraft, and designing computer games, including one that simulated a three-dimensional chess game in a zero-gravity environment.

On returning to WPI, he still found the academic road rocky, but achieved several notable successes before succumbing to depression. The last job he held was at Five Guys, whose shakes and fries he heartily endorsed.

Newell will be remembered for his offbeat sense of humor, capacious knowledge on a wide range of topics, flights of imagination, utter lack of pretense, and fierce loyalty to his principles and his friends. He recently described the “warm, fuzzy feeling” he got from writing “a piece of code that is reusable, easy to maintain, and well-encapsulated.” Despite his passion for programming, the talents for writing stories and work with his hands fostered by the Waldorf school remained with him throughout his life.

Newell is survived by his parents Henry C. Clark and Kathleen Wine Clark of West Lebanon, NH; his grandmother Jeanne Clark, uncle Stephen Clark and wife Sheila Clark, of Bellevue, TN; his cousin Sean Clark of Nashville, TN; his aunt June Clark of Sacramento, CA; and his maternal aunt Pamela Kelley and husband Christopher Kelley of Port Townsend, WA. He is predeceased by his grandparents June Snell Wine and Newell Hillis Wine and his grandfather Henry Caldwell Clark, Jr.

A small memorial service will be held in March. Newell’s parents welcome contributions to the Upper Valley Waldorf School (PO Box 709, Quechee, VT 05059). Please do not send flowers or trees from the website.

 

View/Sign Guestbook