Beloved journalist, columnist, story teller and book author Charles Stuart (“Charley”) Clark died at his home in Arlington on Nov. 15 from a rare neurological disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He was 70.

An Arlington native and lifelong journalist, Clark authored the weekly column in the News-Press, ‘Our Man in Arlington,’ for more than a decade and wrote numerous news stories and published interviews and books.

Clark was first struck with the fast-progressing degenerative condition barely two weeks after his latest book, a meticulously-researched history, “Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press,” hit bookshelves. The illness caused a series of events to introduce it, including at the Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church, to be canceled.

After a week in the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, he was diagnosed by a team of the Mayo Clinic, and spent his last days at home surrounded by his wife, Ellen, and children before his death.

Clark was described by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer as “a Northern Virginia institution for decades dedicated to the community he loved.” Arlington State Del. Patrick Hope said, “Arlington has lost is greatest historian of all time, an author, teacher and best story teller I’ve ever known.”

His wife Ellen and daughters Elizabeth and Suzannah, collaborated on his life story following his passing last week. They wrote, “A proud native of Arlington County, Charlie was born on July 6, 1953 to Keith Conrad Clark, an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, and Cynthia Landry Clark, an accomplished editor and translator.

“Charlie set deep roots in Arlington, forging lifelong friendships in the Rivercrest and Cherrydale neighborhoods. After a gap year spent abroad in Europe, Charlie attended the University of Oregon and later graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

“Known to many by the name of his weekly column in the News-Press, “Our Man in Arlington,” Charlie was as well-versed in the goings on in his backyard as he was in the intricacies of the federal government across the Potomac.

“He began his 50-year journalism career on The Sentry, the student newspaper of Yorktown High School. From the launch pad of Time-Life Books in Alexandria, VA, he went on to work as a reporter or editor for The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, and elsewhere, retiring as a senior correspondent at Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group in 2019.

“Charlie kept his pen in hand throughout retirement, publishing several books of Arlington history as well as the first full biography of George Washington Parke Custis. His last book, “Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press,” a history of the City of Falls Church’s local newspaper, was published by The History Press on October 22, 2023.

“Casting a legacy of warmth and wit, Charlie is survived by his wife, Ellen McCallister Clark, daughters Elizabeth Clark McKenzie (James Evan McKenzie) and Susannah Clark Matt (Francis Xavier Matt IV), and beloved grandchildren Caroline Land McKenzie and James Patrick McKenzie, along with his siblings Thomas Conrad Clark and Martha Clark Franks.

“A memorial will be announced at a later date. As Charlie was a board member of the Arlington Historical Society and an active civic volunteer, please consider honoring him by donating to a local charity of your choice. In lieu of flowers, his family would like to celebrate his gift of community building.”

In one of scores of warm comments written in memory of Clark online, a friend and fellow professional from his early days at Time-Life Books, Barbara Brownell Grogan, wrote a typical tribute echoed by so many others, “In our early days at Time-Life Books, Charlie was always a bright light. A talented journalist with a great wit and heart. He shared so much with so many.”

“Charlie was a community weaver, one of those special people who knit communities together,” wrote Diane Kresh of the Arlington Library. “He was a great friend to the library. You could find researching in the Center for Local History. Earnest and thorough, Charlie was a consummate storyteller.

“Charlie is gone but not forgotten. Thank you for being ‘Our Man in Arlington.’”

Clark had a 50-year journalism career, beginning with the school paper at Yorktown High School in Arlington and he began his column in the News-Press in 2011. He rarely missed a week and thanks to his savvy nose for news always had plenty to write about.

He wrote three local history books, “Arlington County Chronicles,” “Hidden History of Arlington County” and “Lost Arlington County,” all published by the History Press, before he published in 2021 the first full biography of George Washington Parke Custis that he called “the undersung child of Mt. Vernon,” for McFarland Books.

He began to attend the weekly Monday lunches hosted by the News-Press designed to get a handle on the upcoming week’s events and news, and once he began to attend, he rarely missed.

The News-Press’ Nicholas Benton wrote in the editorial in this week’s edition, “Charlie was a true journalism professional, applying all the best standards of the calling to his work, perfected over a lifetime of toil. But like most in this profession, he was also uniquely a person in the process, never far from a full-throated laugh, an ability to catch an irony in a situation and a sustaining cheerfulness that was his particular gift. Journalists tend to be self-deprecating but tenacious lamplighters who are accustomed to subordinating ourselves to the truths about which we are writing, and to that end, seeking the highest standards of authenticity…There has been no one in my experience better suited to own the label, “journalist,” than Charlie Clark.”

Writing about himself in the third person in “Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press,” Clark recounted, “In 2010 Barton was replaced by Charlie Clark, the author of this volume. His ‘Our Man in Arlington’ column took a reporter’s neutral approach, quoting both sides on issues and providing more on-scene coverage. In addition to covering politics and policy, the new Arlington column featured history, famous Arlingtonian, neighborhood life and humor. Grateful for reader praise, Clark went on to publish books and emerged as a public speaker.”