If there is one message to take away from Jackson Clark’s life, it would be the importance of being present – in your own life and in the lives of others.
“Papa Jack taught me that life is not about perfection. It’s about being present, about showing up, about listening, laughing and letting go when things don’t go as planned,” his son, Nick Clark, said during his father’s memorial service.
On Monday, about 600 people gathered at the Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall to celebrate the life of Jackson Clark, owner of Durango’s Toh-Atin Gallery.
In just 90 minutes, eight speakers – family members, friends and longtime colleagues – painted a vivid portrait of a man who left a profound mark on nearly everyone he met.
“He was the heartbeat of every room. He was the thread that quietly wove people together,” one speaker said.
Clark, who died in August after suffering a stroke at age 75, spent most of his life in Durango, where he grew up immersed in the landscape of the Southwest.
His parents founded Durango’s Toh-Atin Gallery, which became a cornerstone for Native American art in the region. Jackson carried their work forward, becoming both a business owner and a trusted cultural bridge.
Friends and colleagues recalled how he grew the gallery’s reputation while always honoring the artists whose work filled its walls.
Behind the stage at his memorial hung two large Navajo weavings, a visual manifestation of that legacy. The works, by master weaver Mae Jim of the Ganado area, were among Clark’s most treasured pieces. He refused to sell them, believing they should remain available for the family, the community and the Navajo Nation to enjoy at special events.
As owner of Toh-Atin, Clark built relationships rooted in trust.
“Through his deep connection with artists, he made sure the art he shared with others was genuine, rooted in truth and full of meaning,” said James Fredy, representing the Burnham family of weavers. “He respected Native culture not only through words, but through action.”
Fredy recalled Clark’s ability to find joy in the simplest things – from a steaming bowl of corn and mutton stew shared on the reservation to quietly delivering firewood to elderly families in the winter cold.
In business, he was fair, trustworthy and serious, Fredy said.
To friends, Clark was both a mischief-maker and a confidant: the ringleader of parties that ended with floors slick with spilled beer, and a companion on mountain adventures and art show trips across the reservation.
To his sons, Nick and Ed, Clark was an active and devoted father.
“When I think about my dad – Papa Jack – I think about red-tailed hawks, which were his totem. I think about sugar pancakes on birthday mornings. And I think about a man who could get lost in the woods and somehow make it feel like part of the adventure,” Nick Clark said.
Their memories painted him as a parent who showed up in countless ways: driving hours for soccer practice, whipping up breakfast (his favorite meal), or encouraging them to embrace life’s inevitable misadventures.
“As far as adventure goes, my dad was Mr. Adventure,” Nick said, recalling a camping trip with his brother that ended with the three of them hiking home in the middle of the night after the family dog threw up beef stroganoff in the tent.
To repurpose Clark’s favorite quote: “You can’t make this stuff up.”
His partner, Kris McCann, remembered Clark’s ability to bring energy and joy into every moment, no matter how small.
“We have had – the last 15 years – an incredible love story,” McCann said.
Those close to Clark remembered him as someone unafraid to voice his opinion and engage in community debates.
Over the years, his gallery has been the center of some public controversy regarding the large “Chief” sign depicting a Native American, and Clark was an active participant in the discussions, despite public push back.
He wrote opinion pieces in The Durango Herald, engaged in spirited discussion, but refused to acquiesce to those who criticized the sign as mocking Native Americans.
And although the speakers, and the guests were filled with emotion, it was both grief and joy. Intermittently, the auditorium would fill with laughter.
Clark is survived by his sister, Antonia, of Durango; his two sons, Edward and Nick Clark of McNeal, Arizona and Boise, Idaho, respectively; five grandchildren, Aidan, Gabby, Owen, Sawyer and Stetson; nephews J.R. and Jeff Starns; and his partner, Kristine McCann, and her daughter Darcy of Santa Fe.
Toh-Atin Gallery will remain open in Clark’s absence.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
