Obituary of Dorothy Anderson Clark

Dorothy Anderson Clark, 93, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 17, 2012 at the Presbyterian Home of Hawfields in Mebane, North Carolina, where she had resided for the past two years. A native of Staten Island, New York, Dorothy was a graduate of Port Richmond High School, Staten Island, and worked for five years as a clerk at Dunn and Bradstreet in New York City before marrying her husband of 47 years, Eugene Clark, in 1942. While raising her six children, Dorothy encouraged sports and sportsmanship, having been an avid equestrian as a teenager. After her children had grown, the lure of the big city found Dorothy returning back to work in New York City for several years before retiring and relocating with her husband to a country home in rural Center Lisle in upstate New York in 1977. Yearly winter getaways to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, provided a reprieve from the cold as well as a home for Dorothy to hone her golf game and enjoy swimming and socializing. Ten years later Dorothy and Eugene moved to be closer to family in Freehold, New Jersey. During this time, Dorothy travelled to several destinations in Europe and Canada with family and friends, and enjoyed playing bridge, volunteering at the local hospital in Freehold, and discovering new golf courses to play along the Jersey Shore. In 1999 Dorothy, now a widow and 80, moved to Carrboro, North Carolina at the behest of four of her children who now lived nearby. This timeframe saw Dorothy, a lifelong prolific reader, pursue classes at the Binkley Baptist Church in poetry and classical music, frequent swimming at the Chapel Hill Community Center, membership in St. Thomas More Catholic Church, and bridge games and many friendships at her residence, Carolina Spring Senior Apartments. In 2010 at the age of 91, Dorothy moved to the Presbyterian Home of Hawfields in Mebane, North Carolina. There she was the grateful beneficiary of wonderful care provided by their superb staff. Dorothy is survived by sons William Clark and wife Marlene of Canton, N.Y., Terrence Clark and wife Brita of Candler, N.C., John Clark and wife Phoenix of Graham, N.C., daughters Margaret Allen and husband Stanley of Grand Island, Nebraska, Alice Brower and husband Robert of Hillsborough, N.C., Joan Levitt and husband Stephen of Efland, N.C., eleven grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. Dorothy will be laid to rest at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery in Freehold, N.J. after a brief graveside ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22nd. Higgins Funeral Home in Freehold, New Jersey will be handling the arrangements.