Clarke Coggeshall, 90, of Brookline, died peacefully of natural causes on February 24th, 2021 with his family by his side. Clarke was married for fifty-one years to the love of his life, Ethel "Eddie" Ducey Coggeshall, with whom he raised their three children; Katharine Coggeshall Myers of Jamaica Plain, MA, Natalie Coggeshall Nelson of Ashburnham, MA and David Clarke Coggeshall of Los Angeles, CA.
Born in 1931 to James Coggeshall Jr. and Esther Clarke Coggeshall, Clarke graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University before serving for two years as a destroyer officer in the U.S Navy. He then spent thirty-seven years at Citibank until his retirement in 1991. His true passions lay in his lifelong love of theater, traveling the world with Eddie, spending time with his children and grandchildren and cruising the Maine coast and beyond aboard his brother's boat, "Dauntless.” In 1971, he became President of the Board of Directors of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center. His business acumen was crucial to the development of the theater, skills he dusted off later in life as a twenty-year member of the Advisory Board of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. Clarke adored the A.R.T and was proud watching Boston evolve into an outstanding theater city. A high point of each year was traveling with Eddie to New York City to see nearly every new play and musical on Broadway. The annual Tony Awards was a sacred event for Clarke, and his kids learned never to call on Tony night. Clarke's summers were spent on Cape Cod sailing the "Windfall" around beautiful Barnstable Harbor. Clarke was a lifetime member of the Barnstable Yacht Club, which awarded him its highest honor, the Commodore's Cup, for his robust enthusiasm and years of service as a financial advisor for the club. Clarke was respected by all who knew him and beloved by his large extended family: 6 grandsons and 1 granddaughter; two sons-in-law and one daughter-in-law; Eddie’s two sisters and brother-in-law; and many nieces and nephews. If the lights of Broadway seem dimmer today, it's because one of its most devoted patrons has exited the theater with a smile on his face and a Playbill in hand.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to The Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod, Good Shepherd Community Hospice or the American Repertory Theater