MANLIUS, N.Y. -- Richard G. "Dick" Clark, 85, the man who offered John MacDougall 50% of a new company that became Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, passed away on Nov. 11, 2014, at home in Manlius, N.Y.
Born in Canastota, N.Y., Clark graduated from Cornell University with an electrical engineering degree in 1951 and went on to serve two years in the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant, after which he returned to Canastota to work with his father and start a family. Clark and his younger brother, Don, took over operation of the family business and grew it as Clarks Petroleum Service, which he eventually sold to his son Rick.
The brothers remained business partners for many years, and in the 1980s, they co-founded Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes with John MacDougall.
MacDougall had a vision of what the perfect store would be. He had a core philosophy of being nice as a person and he wanted the word in the name of the new company. He came up with the Nice N Easy name and the first store opened on April 1, 1980, in Franklin Springs, N.Y.
MacDougall, CSP's 2013 Retail Leader of the Year, passed away in June 2014.
"Without Dick's idea to convert three bay service stations into convenience stores and without his ability to identify and secure John MacDougall's talents in 1980, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes would have never existed," Fran Duskiewicz, former president and CEO of Nice N Easy told CSP Daily News.
Click here to read Duskiewicz's "John MacDougall: A Reflection."
San Antonio-based CST Brands Inc., with CrossAmerica Partners LP, closed on its acquisition of Canastota, N.Y.-based Nice N Easy earlier this month. Duskiewicz is now director of operations support at CST.
Clark was a successful athlete, earning a place in Cornell's Hall of Fame for football and wrestling, but he was most remarkable for his intellectual curiosity, his boundless energy and his unswerving love and support for his family, his friends, and his community. He was an active member of numerous organizations: Lions Club, Civic Club, Rotary, and the Manlius Senior Centre; the Canastota Board of Education and the Cazenovia College Board of Trustees; Key Bank and Utica Mutual Boards of Directors; Saint James parish in Cazenovia and Saint Ann's parish in Manlius; the New York State Business Council, Empire State Petroleum Association and the White House Conference on Small Business, among many others.
Clark was preceded in death by his wife Margaret "Peg" and his brother Don. He is survived by his wife Ann; sisters-in-law, Margaret Clark, and Mary Ramsdell; children, Rick (Diane), Kevin, Mary Beth (John), Bob (Becky), Don (Celeste), Patti, and Mary Lynne (Marty); grandchildren, Heather (John), Laurel (Tom), Rich, Katy, Cardner, Lily, Sunshine, Maggie, Joe, Madeline, Mollie and Spencer; and great-grandson, Aiden.
CSP Daily News sends condolences to his family, his friends and his colleagues.
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