Joseph Eugene "Joe" "Pop Pop" Clarkson

Joseph Eugene “Joe” Clarkson passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, on Monday, April 21st, 2025, at the age of 83. Born June 11, 1941, to Margaret and Eugene Clarkson in Washington, DC, Joe was the beloved husband of Eleanor Josephine (Quade) Clarkson, married on June 15, 1963. They celebrated 56 years of marriage before Eleanor’s passing in 2019. He is preceded in death by his sister, Margaret Patricia “Pat” (Clarkson) Krisko and brothers-inlaw, John Hunter Krisko, III, and George L. Quade, Jr. He is survived by his cherished children, Christa Lynn Jacobson (John) and Joseph Eugene Clarkson, Jr.; grandchildren Josephine “Josie” Jacobson and Trey Jacobson; as well as five nieces and two nephews from the Krisko and Quade families. Joe was born and raised in Southeast Washington, DC, and attended Holy Comforter Elementary School, St. John’s College High School, Georgetown University, and Catholic University, where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree in 1966 . A career public servant, he worked at the Internal Revenue Service, District of Columbia Welfare Agency, and significantly at the Department of Justice, retiring in 1995 as the Chief of the Foreign Agents Registration Unit. Joe and Eleanor lived in Forestville and then largely in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, until “retiring” to Bushwood in 1999, where Joe went on to serve with distinction as a District Court Commissioner until 2014. Joe will be remembered for his love of baseball and softball, a sport that he played from youth into senior status. He was also a loyal fan, coach, manager, umpire, and supporter of his children, grandchildren, extended family, and all youth, serving as longtime President of the Marlboro Boys and Girls Club. He was a member of the Old Gum baseball team throughout the 1960s and won a national softball championship as a senior player/manager in Phoenix, Arizona. The family will receive friends at Sacred Heart Church, Bushwood, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and Mass at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Pallbearers are John P. Krisko, George Quade, III, Vincent Bergling, Michael Vance, Jr., Hank Bowling, and A. Michael Chapdelaine. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe’s memory may be made to Mother Catherine Academy or the Alzheimer’s Association. Condolences may be made to the family at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home and Cremation Services, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.