Dr. Thomas D. Clark, one of the most respected and loved Kentuckians of our time - and all times - died on June 28th, 16 days shy of his 102nd birthday.

He was a great teacher, scholar, and public servant who played a major role in promoting the University Press of Kentucky. He was also the moving force behind the creation of the Kentucky History Center, which was just renamed the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History.

Dr. Clark was one of my heroes. Like thousands of people he influenced, I respected his keen intellect, his hard work, and his dedication to the people of Kentucky. I had a long and rewarding working relationship with him that began in the 1980s and continued in 1991 when he contracted with the Jesse Stuart Foundation to reprint "A History of Kentucky." Two years later, we reprinted his "Simon Kenton: Kentucky Scout."

In 1993, he wrote that he "was exceedingly well pleased" with the JSF reprint of "A History of Kentucky." It was, he said, "by far the handsomest and best produced of the six or seven printings, including the first one."

For the next decade, I worked with Dr. Clark on many projects. He contributed an essay to our book, "Appalachian Christmas Stories" and was always supportive of the work of the Jesse Stuart Foundation.

Several years ago Dr. Clark "popped in" to our offices unexpectedly. He was taking Steve Wrinn, the new Director of the University Press of Kentucky, on a driving tour of the state. He was 99 years old at the time!

Last year at the Kentucky History Center, we unveiled a print of Dr. Clark, made from original art by our chief artist and designer, Jim Marsh. In his typical sparkling humor, Dr. Clark wrote to say that Jim Marsh’s art "portrayed me as I am, a Mississippi country boy looking hard into pine trees to see if there are any pine beetles present."

Clark may have been born in Mississippi, but, to paraphrase Jesse Stuart, Kentucky was his land. The great journalist and political commentator Al Smith said that Tom Clark "took us into our past and then, because he loved us, he showed us our future."

Dr. Clark was Kentucky’s heart and conscience, so I was especially pleased when he praised the Jesse Stuart Foundation for filling "a real need in Kentucky" by publishing out of print classics and new books, too.

Local historian Charles C. "Hardware Charlie" Wells died the same day that Tom Clark died. Wells was a student in one of my Appalachian history classes nearly twenty years ago and he authored and published three genealogy books that relate to Floyd and Johnson Counties.

I am confident that somewhere along the line these two men crossed paths, so they may have stood in line together as they prepared to enter The Kingdom Of Heaven. If they did, I suspect they talked about Kentucky history.

Dr. Clark’s books, along with thousands of other regional books, are available at the Jesse Stuart Foundation.