Phyllis Jean Clark

Phyllis loved music and was a saxophone player. She enjoyed square dancing, natural history, travel, playing pinochle and bridge with her friends and she traveled throughout the United States and Europe. She especially loved the Monterey Bay Area.

Phyllis was an active church member at First Christian Church; a lifelong educator and learner. She taught mostly 3rd grade and special education for 34 years. She was also a student at UC Berkeley, Cal State, Fresno, San Francisco and San Jose State. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the California Teachers Association, the American Legion Woman’s Auxiliary and AARP in the national and local levels.

She is preceded in death by her husband Robert R. Clark; her brother Jess Smith and her sister in-law Naomi Laird Smith.

She is survived by her children Robert (Debra) Clark; Barbara (Mark) Wlodarczyk; her grandchildren, Angela Poorman Odegaard; Curtis Poorman; Tyler Clark and Peter Clark; her great grandchildren, William and Tessa Odegaard, Matthew and Hosanna Clark, and Samuel Clark.

The family would sincerely like to thank Nicole Poorman for her extraordinary service to Phyllis in the last weeks of her life, in attending to her needs, literally around the clock.

There will be a celebration of life held in Phyllis’s honor on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at 2:00pm at Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home, located at 1490 B Street, Merced, California. In lieu of flowers the family has asked that donations be made to the Russell/Engleman Rheumatology Research Center; UCSF Foundation, Po Box 45339, San Francisco, California 94145-0330; Jacqui Lang at 415-476-3341, or [email protected] or donate online at makeagift.ucsf.edu.