To the Editor:

Last Friday, the village of Voorheesville and the town of New Scotland lost a great man. Ed Clark, former mayor and town supervisor, passed away May 25. I will not list his many accomplishments here — you can read his obituary for that — but I do want to express my feelings about him.

From very early on, Ed was an influence in my life. Starting in kindergarten, my older brother was his son Adam’s close friend, and my younger brother his son Tom’s. I was lucky enough to absorb some fringe benefits.

Our families became close, and his impact on my life began to grow. He opened his basement “gym” to our workouts, took us on motorcycle rides, and, as a cycling enthusiast, helped us fix our bikes and advised us on routes to explore.

Many evenings, he’d sit and play games with us, teaching us the finer points of poker or Jenga. Always enthusiastic and always wryly funny, he was the coolest and most accessible adult I knew.

As I got older, my definition of cool started to change and expand. Yet, Ed’s life still met my criteria. He was smart, empathetic, practical, and engaged.

He became an example of how to get involved in one’s community and how to give back. How to handle life’s unimaginable cruelty, while keeping one’s optimism and spirit. What commitment to family and friends meant. He spoiled my wife and me around our wedding, and later unnecessarily cooed over our children with genuine excitement.

Later, he helped me get involved with the town zoning board and was a big supporter and advisor when I ran for town council. There were few people’s advice I trusted more.

He had a feel and passion for our community that were rare, and he spent much of his life trying to make other people’s lives better. I know he did mine. I still aspire to be that cool.

Adam Greenberg

New Scotland

Editor’s note: See related obituary.