Mary Clark

Mary Christy Clark passed peacefully from this world in the early morning on December 16, 2016 in Port Townsend, Washington. She was surrounded by her son and daughter-in-law and close friends. Celebration of Life Service will be held Monday, January 2, 2017 at the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Independence, KS at 11:00am. Interment will follow at the Erie Cemetery in Erie, KS. Memorials are suggested to the church. She was born Mary Velma Christy on September 18, 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri. At 106, she was the last surviving child of the six children of Anna (Fiscus) and Daniel Christy. When Mary was four, her father sold his paper route and her family moved to a 160 acre farm between Burlington and Gridley, Kansas. Mary completed the eighth grade in a one-room school house. She worked on the farm with her brothers and sisters by gathering eggs, milking cows, and helping her mother with all the house work needed to support such a family farm. Her mother taught her many skills, but sewing was her favorite. Later, she helped her extended family by staying in the home of her brother Phil when his family was ill and made them all clothes. She even drove a team of Phil's horses to rake hay in the summertime. Mary moved into Burlington when she was 18 and worked at the hotel as a dining room hostess for $5 a week. Mary went to dances twice a week and played cards weekly with a large group of single women. Two nights a week she sold tickets at the movie theater and twice a week sold cloth at the yardage store. Working all these jobs, she saved and bought her ailing parents a house in Burlington for $1400 when they lost their farm. On December 26, 1941, Mary married Clyde C. Clark of Erie, Kansas. They moved to Wichita, Kansas where Clyde was an insurance adjuster and Mary was a homemaker. In 1953 Mary, Clyde, and their son, Kevin, moved to Independence, Kansas where Clyde bought a small insurance and real estate office. They joined the First Christian Church where Mary remained a member until her death - 63 years. She was a member of the Future Planners Class and CWF. In 1962, they moved to Linda Jean Drive where they were surrounded by many good neighbors including the families of Lucille and Alan Sparrowhawk and Twyla and Fred Forslund. Twyla and her children, Rene and Zack, became Mary's adopted daughter and grandchildren. On January 28. 1979, Clyde quickly and peacefully passed away in his sleep from a heart attack. Soon after, Mary moved into a doublewide house trailer next to the Forslund's in Neodesha, Kansas. Mary lived there 32 years until she moved to Port Townsend, Washington to live with Kevin and his wife, Jeanne, just after her 102nd birthday. For her 100th , 102nd, and 103-106th birthdays, Mary received well over 100 cards from well-wishers each year. Mary is survived by her daughter-in-law and son, Jeanne and Kevin Clark; by her nieces, Susie Henry, Sandy Mitchell, and Linda Mays; her nephews, Gary Christy, Merlin Christy, and David Reed; her adopted daughter, Twlya Forslund; her grandchildren, Sean Clark, Rene Hines, and Zack Forslund; and her great grandchildren, Elloit Toomer, Bryson and Corbin Hines, and Tayla Forslund. She cared and shared in the lives of many people. She will surely be missed in this life.

Service

First Christian Church Disciples of Christ
319 West Laurel
Independence, KS  67301
Monday, January 2, 2017
11am

Cemetery

East Hill Cemetery
13346 Rooks Rd
Erie, KS  66733

Memorial Contributions

First Christian Church Disciples of Christ
319 West Laurel Street
Independence, KS  67301