Terence E. Clarke, former Mayor of Huntsville (Dec. 1986-Dec. 1992), passed away peacefully on November 26th, 2025.
He is survived by his loving children Kristin (Mat Oulton) and son David, who were the greatest joys of his life.
He was a proud grandfather to Brittany, Ty and Darian Clarke, and Sophie Oulton, each of whom held a special place in his heart.
He is also survived by his brother Bill Clarke (Wendy) and sister Nancy Icely (Peter). He was predeceased by his sister, Susan Riegle (Ed).
A pillar of the Huntsville community, he was known for his integrity, kindness, and unwavering commitment to the people he served.
As Mayor of Huntsville, he approached every decision with thoughtfulness and a deep sense of responsibility.
His leadership left a lasting impact, and he remained highly respected long after his term ended.
An accomplished athlete throughout his life, he especially loved hockey, both as a player and as a mentor to young athletes.
His passion for sport shaped his character
—disciplined, fair, team-focused, and always ready to encourage others.
His devotion to young people led him into education, where he served with distinction as Principal of Huntsville High School (Sept. 1986-June 1993).
In that role he guided thousands of students, supporting their successes and helping them navigate challenges with patience and genuine care.
Family was at the centre of his life. He was a proud and loving father to Kristin and David whose lives he enriched with his steady support, humour, and wisdom. He delighted in his grandchildren—Brittany, Ty and Darian Clarke, and Sophie Oulton—who brought him immeasurable joy.
He celebrated every milestone with pride and cherished the special bond he held with each of them.
He will be remembered for his big heart, his generosity, and the countless ways he contributed to the community he loved so much.
He was well respected and deeply loved by friends, neighbours, colleagues, and former students—a man who made Huntsville better simply by being part of it.
A celebration of his life will be held at a later date, with details to follow.
His legacy of service, strength, and compassion will live on in the community, and in the hearts of all who knew him.
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My deepest sympathies to the Clarke family.
One summer day c.1991, Terry hitched a ride with me from the town hall to the high school. He asked what I was working on and I told him I was looking for a better way to score hockey games. He asked, “Do you mind if I tag along and help out.”
He was with me in my home office when I interrupted him telling me how modems work to say “I’ve got it! The computer screen has to be the hockey rink” pointing to the Mac IIci siting on my desk. He looked at me like I’d lost it.
I will never forget him saying to me, “A slice. A slice is all we need. Do it well”. His cousin Mike got a Waterloo engineering student, Brad Scott, to do the coding. By Sep 1992, we started scoring games in Huntsville for Dave Russell’s Bantam team. Terry loved scoring and testing the fixes and got good enough to do 400 to 500 event (shots, hits…) in a game when the others would write down a handful of penalties, a few goals and tally the shots. Today, the NHL scorers do 300-350 events/game.
We demo’ed it around Ontario and NHL rinks to reach George McPhee of the Vancouver Canucks who passed it on to the NHL. We demonstrated it live to Commissioner Bettman and VP Public Relations Arthur Pincus at a 1994 playoff game at the old Buffalo Aud. They were interested.
By then, Terry had left Huntsville and during the negotiations with the NHL (in the middle of the 94-95 strike) he asked to leave the project as he couldn’t devote the time or money.
Since its adoption for the first game of the 1997 season, it has been the engine of the NHL Scoring system for over 37,000 games – soon to be half of all NHL games ever played.
Most Huntsvillians aren’t aware of this saga as both Terry and I left Huntsville in 1994 and worked elsewhere since.
So, Terry has another legacy that I know he was proud of and I was sure glad he “tagged along”. In the end, we made neither money or fame but it was the thrill of a lifetime especially for hockey players from Huntsville and Bracebridge.
Marg and I extend our deepest sympathies to his children Dave and Kristen, his grandchildren, and his siblings Bill (Wendy) and Nancy and cousins Rick (Elizabeth), Helen (Barry), Mike (Heather) and Greg.
A couple of Terry Clarke early-adoption computer stories. As principal of Huntsville High School, Terry brought in a Mac computer; the only one in the school board. Dave Traves was audio-visual technician at HHS as I was at GHS. Terry’s colleague, GHS principal John Brownlee heard of this unique tool and had me book it to work on a poster for the GHS Centennial. In the middle of designing, Dave and I took a break and put a paper sign on the keyboard: “Please do not touch”. Arriving back, Terry educated us in the new concept of “save your work” to free the machine for others’ use. He wasn’t angry, just informing; and so we were initiated.
Terry helped Stu Reid develop the real time scoring software that was subsequently sold to the NHL. He was up in the booth of the old arena watching a Sportsman League game, recording ongoing events with this newfangled “mouse” on a map of the rink. An enjoyable book on this history is Stuart Reid’s “The Saga of SQRA” which details Terry’s involvement and invokes Huntsville names such as Doug Raisbeck, Dave Russell and Frank Lutzi.
Cheers to you, Terry.
Terry was Mayor when I was appointed as Huntsville’s first CAO. I was in my late 20’s and while I managed a small department, I was unsure about accepting the job. I soon realized that the job as Principal was similar in some ways…like a CAO, he was the pivot point between the elected Board and teachers and students. Sensing my unease, he made it a habit to drop by my office and give me valuable management advice. Over time we covered a lot of ground and taught me the art of management. I am forever grateful for his mentorship. He also had a wicked sense of humour. He lived on the highest point of land in Port Sydney and had great view of Mary Lake. At 4am, an irate resident called to complain the road in front of his cottage hadn’t been cleared. He said he was a surgeon in Toronto as was booked for surgery that afternoon.
Terry knew where he lived and could see the blue flashing of a plough approaching the property from his perch.. He told the resident his road would be cleared in one minute. The doctor exploded the rage and called him a typical politician making empty promises. Sure enough the plough clears the road and the surgeon was dumbstruck!
In one our after work chats, he asked me if he should tell the very rude doctor what really happened. I said I wouldn’t but he may want to see if he would post an election sign.
The good old days!
Terry touched the lives of so many people and I was fortunate to be on of them.
Thank you for your service to Huntsville..
A dear friend and companion for many years.
Rest easy my friend. I will miss you. 😍
He truly was a pillar in our community. Cindy and I send condolences to his family. He was one of a kind.
So long Terry, it was an honor to know and learn from you. Rest In Peace.