Nathan Dominic Clarke

Nathan Dominic Clarke passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family on January 29, 2018. He was 32 years old.

Nathan was born and raised in Appleton, and earned strong academic accolades as a member of the Appleton East class of 2003. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2007, majoring in Physics and Philosophy. In addition to thriving within the greater intellectual community at Dartmouth, Nathan hiked in the White Mountains with the outing club, and supported the women’s basketball team. Following college in New Hampshire, Nathan moved to New York City to work as a commodities trader for Deutsche Bank. During this time, Nathan’s work ethic and discipline became evident as he navigated firsthand the upheavals of the global financial crisis. Nathan eagerly accepted the opportunity to transfer to London. For the last several years, he worked for ANZ Bank, which he greatly enjoyed.

Following a rare abdominal cancer diagnosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei in January 2016, Nathan returned to be with his family in Wisconsin and underwent chemotherapy treatments and a multitude of surgeries.

We are reminded of the love and wider influence Nathan formed throughout his life by the many friends who travelled to visit him while ill, and who sent letters expressing their love, prayers, and thoughts for him. We give our gratitude to Chethan Ramamurthy, for his gentle companionship and guidance, beginning during their time together at Dartmouth and throughout Nate’s entire journey with cancer. The depth of their friendship was made visible when Chethan, an oncology specialist, spent hours meticulously walking Nathan through the steps of complex medical procedures so Nate could more fully understand and comfortably proceed. Nathan underwent numerous medical experiences, and we give our thanks to the many individuals at the University of Chicago Hospital, Froedtert Hospital and ThedaCare in Appleton who thoughtfully devoted their time and attention to Nate, giving him the best care possible. Amongst many caring doctors and nurses, Dr. Eclavea proactively served Nathan by recognizing how he could both ease Nathan’s pain and extend his life. Nurse Ryan provided exemplary compassion and care to maintain Nathan’s dignity in his final days.

Nathan nurtured an enduring love of learning as he explored and grew in wonder of the world around him. His desire to experience the unknown led him to travel extensively across much of the globe. Traveling was particularly invigorating to Nathan’s life as it gave him the opportunity to discover unfamiliar places, be exposed to new cultures and people, and enjoy novel culinary tastes. Nathan took great joy documenting his travels through his love of photography. His focus and attention to detail was epitomized through capturing moments of beauty within a photographic still, where Nathan took interest in every imaginable feature.

In his life, Nathan nurtured his gift of generosity. Nathan was profoundly aware of how he could uniquely provide for the people in his life. Nate noticed, pondered, and patiently devoted time to reflect and observe in order to meaningfully share his insights with people he loved. Whether through physical gifts or the giving of his time, attention, and knowledge, Nathan cared deeply and compassionately. It is telling that Nathan consistently continued to think of others even as cancer demanded so much from him.

Nathan demonstrated high mental stamina when faced with the unknown. Nathan was agile in ambiguity, and his zest to learn was evident when pondering and wrestling with mysteries within and beyond the human experience. Needless to say, Nathan was frequently at home in a good book, and even happier with friends and colleagues to delve and dive towards new depths together.

Beyond the deep explorations of his own mind, Nathan was particularly keen to physically explore his surroundings. Nate enjoyed the outdoors with gusto. Nathan took pleasure in feeling the rush of wind when traveling by bike, the thrill of streaking down a blanketed expanse of snow on skis and snowboard, as well as the simple contentment of walking. In the midst of taxing cancer treatments, Nathan’s perseverance and grit shone particularly bright. Despite having open medical ports throughout his body that could not come into contact with water, Nathan, alongside his father, cleverly engineered adaptations time and time again, discovering solutions to enable Nathan to continue swimming.

The character Nathan has developed through life is one of optimism, determination, and benevolence. Those who have met Nathan not only know his wit and keen mind, but will always remember an overwhelming sense of his kindness. He is survived and loved by his parents Ann and Allan Clarke, siblings Sarah Clarke, Marie (Daniel) Adams, Matthew (Melanie) Clarke, Bethany (Caleb) Leedy, nephews Abiatar, Allan, and Apolo, and grandparents Edward and Vivian Clarke. He is preceded in death by his grandparents Joseph and Joyce Depies. As a son, brother, uncle, grandson, and friend, Nathan will be dearly missed.

The memorial service for Nathan will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (2330 E. Calumet St., Appleton). Visitation will be held from 11:00 AM until the time of service. Please share your memories, pictures, and condolences below or email them to info@trustwf.com.

To honor Nathan’s desire to help people – locally and globally – contributions may be directed to the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region in Nathan’s memory. Please use URL: https://donor.cffoxvalley.org/Make-A-Gift or follow the link below.

Communityfoundation