Rose Ann Clarke

Rose Ann was a Thanksgiving Day baby, born in Norwalk, CT, on November 24, 1932, the oldest child of Ernest and Dorothy Tallon Baron. She grew up in Stamford, CT, with her parents, her sister Alice, and her brother Buzzy. Rose Ann graduated from Stamford High School in 1950 and, with her mother’s support and the help of a full academic scholarship, became the first in her extended family to attend college. She graduated in 1954 from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and with cherished lifelong friends.

After college, Rose Ann began her first career as a research chemist at American Cyanamid. She joined the team developing the chemical reaction that created glow sticks and is a named inventor on three related patents. In 1955, Rose Ann married the love of her life, Francis “Frank” Clarke. They soon began a family, which ultimately grew to 4 children. Rose Ann soon left American Cyanamid and began a new career as a teacher in order to have a more flexible schedule for her young family. When her youngest child started school, she returned to work as a chemist in a quality control lab at Davis & Geck, a medical products manufacturer. In the 1970s, she returned to school at night, earning a Master of Science in Business from Western Connecticut University. She eventually became the Purchasing Manager at Davis & Geck’s Danbury, CT plant, the first female department manager at that plant.

In retirement, Rose Ann moved to Harwich Port, where she soon found a new community of friends and neighbors. She returned to teaching, serving as a substitute in the Harwich Public Schools for nearly 20 years and building enduring relationships with more than a generation of students. She served on the Council on Aging and was an active member of Holy Trinity Church. Most importantly, she became a supplier of baked goods for her Wyndemere Bluffs neighborhood.

Rose Ann had bright blue eyes, a keen intellect, a lovely smile, and a backbone of pure steel. She overcame trials that would have broken most people, including a years long battle with breast cancer that began when she was just 43, and becoming a widow and single mother when her husband died suddenly at the age of 52. Throughout all of this, Rose Ann worked a demanding full-time job, raised her children, made dinner for her family every night (although she often burned the peas and never made the right amount of spaghetti), completed her Master’s degree, and supported her husband’s political career as he became the First Selectman of their hometown of Bethel, CT. She also became deeply involved in civic life, serving on the town’s Board of Finance, Housing Authority, and Charter Revision Commission.

Alongside her long and varied careers and her active community work, Rose Ann was always a mom. She gave her children precious gifts, including a love of reading, a fierce loyalty to family and friends, a belief in the value of a firm handshake, a devotion to New York sports teams, the knowledge that women can succeed in a traditionally male field, and an enduring love of the ocean (plus countless snarky birthday cards). She will always be missed.

Rose Ann is survived by son Michael Clarke and daughter-in-law Janet Saucci of Mount Kisco, NY, daughter Cynthia Clarke of Boston, MA, daughter Kathleen Clarke Buch and son-in-law Aron Buch of Port Chester, NY, daughter Lauraine Clarke of Harwich Port, MA, sister Alice Leary of St. Petersburg, FL, sister-in-law Bonnie Baron of Norwalk, CT, grandchildren, Stephen Clarke and Katherine Clarke, both of Danbury, CT, Matthew Saucci of Todos Santos, Mexico, William Saucci of Norwalk, CT and Meredith Saucci of New York City, along with several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, Frank Clarke, and her brother Ernest “Buzzy” Baron.

A funeral service will be held at St. Mary’s Church in Bethel, Connecticut, on January 24, 2026, at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: The Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich, MA, or the Bethel Community Family Pantry in Bethel, CT.

The family is also planning a celebration of life to be held in Harwich Port on June 13, 2026.