Winfield Shaw Clark ’65
Winfield Shaw Clark ’65 passed away on May 27. “Binny” came to Dartmouth paralyzed from an auto accident. “After two years of being carried up stairs to classes and meals, I transferred to the University of Illinois, which had one of the most accessible campuses in the country,” he said. Binny graduated with honors from the University of Illinois, earning a master’s. After graduation he turned to art and music performance. Binny had many Dartmouth family connections, including grandfather John, class of 1908, father John ’32, brother Alexander “Zandy” ’62 and niece Elizabeth McGolderick ’98. Zandy remembers an offered contract from Columbia that would have required extensive travel, which Binny could not do. He moved to California, then Colorado to study at the Naropa Institute. In 1978 he was appointed head of the Boston Dharmadhatu, where he taught Buddhism and mediation. His teaching later led him to Nova Scotia and back home to New Hampshire. Along the way, he earned a degree in music composition, invented a way for pianists to operate pedals remotely and was a New Hampshire composer of the year. His eloquent description of Buddhism, together with many of his songs, may be found at winfieldclark.com. Most recently, Binny edited The McLanes: a New Hampshire Clan, a history of a family that includes many Dartmouth athletes, scholars and benefactors. A man of broad interests and accomplishments despite adversity, Binny’s was truly a life well lived.
