Saugus Basketball Coach to Retire After Season

In the wake of the death of his son Jackson last week, John Clark has announced that he will retire as Saugus High basketball coach after the upcoming season.

Clark, who has coached Saugus since 1983 and led the Centurions to a Southern Section championship in 1987, said his son’s four-month battle with intestinal cancer influenced his decision but was not the only factor.

Jackson Clark, 22, a 1987 Saugus graduate, died Friday at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Panorama City, where he had been hospitalized for three months.

“I was about 60% sure about not coming back next year and that was before I found out Jackson was sick,” said Clark, 46, who will continue to teach math at Saugus. “Now I’m sure that this is my last year.”

Jackson Clark had completed his junior year at UC Santa Barbara before suddenly becoming ill during the summer. He was not a basketball player in college, but he played forward his senior year at Saugus for the team that his father coached to the 3-A Division championship. The team had entered the playoffs as a wild card.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at St. Clare Catholic Church in Canyon Country.

Clark’s family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a memorial scholarship fund to be established at Saugus High.

Donations should be sent to the Jackson Clark Scholarship Fund, in care of school Athletic Director Randy Parker.