Archbishop Edgerton R. Clarke, a 1960 alumnus of the seminary class of St. John Seminary, Brighton, died in his native Jamaica on Feb. 13, 2025. He had observed the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination on Feb. 2, 2025.

Raised in Jamaica, he was sent north to St. John Seminary to prepare for the priesthood in his home Diocese of Kingston. The bishop of Kingston was Woburn native and New England Jesuit, John J. McEleney. The bishop sent several of his candidates to Brighton for priestly formation. For the seminarians, the biggest challenge was the weather, especially those "cold" months between October and April.

When the new Diocese of Montego Bay was made in 1967, Father Clarke was named its first bishop. Ordained bishop on Nov. 30, 1967, at 38, he was one of the youngest bishops in the world. He served as diocesan bishop for 27 years until Pope St. John Paul II named metropolitan archbishop of Kingston in Jamaica in November 1994. He and the other bishops of Jamaica welcomed the same pope to their native land in August 1993.

A gentleman who spent his priestly and episcopal life among his people was loved across the vacation island, which has often been forgotten as being still in need of development outside the vacation spots.

His funeral Mass was celebrated at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Kingston, Jamaica, and he was buried in his native Jamaica.