Pam St. Clair, a driving force behind the development of King Street Gardens Park, died April 7 at the age of 80.
Obituary
Pam St. Clair, one of the driving forces behind the development of King Street Gardens Park on upper King Street, died April 7 at her home in Grand Junction, Colo. She was 80 years old.
The longtime Alexandria resident and her husband Kerry had relocated to Colorado in 2022 to be near their son Colin and his wife Carrie.
Pamela Ann McCormick was born Oct. 29, 1943, in Kansas City to Thaine D. McCormick and his wife Rollene. She was a graduate of Pittsburg High School in Kansas and Washburn University in Topeka. She spent a year abroad in Denmark then returned to the U.S. and settled in the DC area to work for the Treasury Department. It was there that she met her future husband, Kerry St. Clair.
The two were married Sept. 27, 1969, and settled in the Rosemont area of the city. Together they raised two children, a son Colin and daughter Kathryn.
St. Clair served as the chairman of the King Street Gardens Committee. The idea for the park was first approved by the city in 1989 to "incorporate Alexandria's distinct historical significance, integrating public art and place, and creating a memorable civic image in a fluid urban landscape."
The award-winning park served as the site for special events and farmers markets with memorial bricks inscribed around the park space.
Additionally, St. Clair was an early organizer of Christmas in April in Alexandria, now Rebuilding Together. She represented the Alexandria League of Women Voters on the city’s affordable housing task force and served as the first chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
She was recognized by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce and the Alexandria Commission for Women for her work on affordable housing.
St. Clair served as president of the Rosemont Citizens Association and the Alexandria League of Women Voters and chair of the Vocational Advisory Committee for what is now Alexandria City High School.
St. Clair was predeceased by her husband Kerry, who died in September of 2023. She is survived by a daughter, Kathryn Ellis (Darren) of Knoxville, Tenn.; a son Colin St. Clair (Carrie) of Grand Junction, Colo.; a brother Charlie McCormick (Lynne) of Fredericksburg, Va, and numerous cousins and nephews.
No services are planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Living Legends of Alexandria, P.O. Box 918 Alexandria, VA 22313, or the HopeWest Hospice Care Center in Grand Junction, Colo., www.Hopewestco.org/donate.