Madeline T. Clark of Chelsea, formerly of Green Valley, Arizona, age 92, passed away on Monday, May 19, 2014, at the Silver Maples Retirement Community in Chelsea.
She was born on Jan. 5, 1922, in Watervliet, New York, the daughter of Anthony and Philomena (Clemente) Valente. On Aug. 18, 1945, she married Marine Major Frank Clark in Watervliet, New York, and he preceded her in death on Dec. 1, 2008.
Madeline had lived in the area since April 2012, coming from Green Valley. She graduated from high school in Watervliet, NY, the first of her family to do so. She met her future husband, Frank Clark, while he was attending college in Troy, NY. It was a random call to his dormitory that blossomed into a love story. They were engaged in 1942, just before he left for the South Pacific as a Marine Officer. The next time she saw him was in the hospital in Long Island, NY, in 1944, where he was recuperating from combat wounds suffered at Tinian. He showed up at the wedding on crutches in August, 1945.
She traveled the country with her husband and family to various job sites he was assigned to, including Oklahoma, California, Canada, Ohio, and in between to their residence in New Jersey. They later moved to Colorado and then retired to Arizona.
Although she never attended college and was always a little self-conscious about it, she received an honorary Ph.D. from My Three Sons University. Her specialty was dealing with people. She loved everyone and they loved her, too. She was an accomplished artist, cook, and homemaker. She loved to entertain and was active in politics in Colorado.
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