Carol Clark Briggs

Carol DeGraux Clark Briggs, of Santa Monica, died of natural causes on Monday, January 25, 2021. Mrs. Briggs was born December 25, 1922 in Birmingham, Michigan, the daughter of Edward Samuel Clark and Mabel Hicks DeGraux Clark. She was the youngest of five children and also the last of the “Greatest Generation” in our family. She graduated from Baldwin High School in Birmingham and went to Mary Washington College in Virginia until WII began when she took and passed the Civil Service exam. With her 3 brothers in military service she was assigned to Department of State, Washington DC in World Trade Intelligence where she benefitted from her college Spanish and French classes.

In the summer of 1943, with her beloved cousin Phyllis Palmer, she traveled to Mexico to attend Universidad Nacional Distrito Federal and earned credits in Anthropology, Archeology and Spanish. In 1944 she went back home to Birmingham and studied at the Detroit School of Business where she learned stenotype and taught English. She became a Certified Stenographer, worked part time and took evening classes from University of Michigan in Spanish and Russian.

As her near oldest brother Bob was in military service in Los Angeles assigned to coastal searchlight operations, she moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at University of Southern California. As part of her studies she worked for International Law Professor Dr. Hurley who was writing his book on Woodrow Wilson. She graduated from USC in June 1946 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and minor in languages.

After graduating she worked in Beverly Hills as secretary to Dan Reeves, owner of the Los Angeles Rams after the team moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland in 1946. In 1948 she received a letter from the US State Department offering her a post in Brazil. However, she met her future husband, Jack Eugene Briggs, at a dinner party arranged by a mutual friend in 1947. In June 1948 they were married at the Beverly Vista Community Church in Beverly Hills.

After raising 5 children, Carol re-entered the workforce as an assistant to the Innkeeper at Holiday Inn of Santa Monica in 1973. This enabled her love of travel and adventure to take hold. She was able to provide travel adventures to her family and she enrolled in German lessons and travel agent lessons in her spare time. In 1983 she began work in the Labor Relations department of the US Postal Service in Marina Del Rey where she continued working until her retirement in 1995. Carol and Jack traveled the world; Europe, Egypt, Russia, China. Carol was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica from the early 1950’s. She and late husband Jack greatly enjoyed the gatherings and were sometimes officers of the Mariner’s group, publishing the monthly newsletters and also hosting backyard pizza parties. She made many lifelong friends through the church and Mariner’s. Until she was no longer able, Carol also continued her traveling adventures domestically as she kept up with relatives and with her dear nieces and nephews and was the family genealogy authority.

Mrs. Briggs was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Jack, and son Brian Clark Briggs.

She is survived by her son, Jack E. Briggs, of Twentynine Palms; her son, Steven M. Briggs (Patty), of Santa Monica; grandsons Scott and Kyle, granddaughter Shannon Graves (Danny); great-granddaughters Christina and Lauren; her son, Thomas B. Briggs (Nancy), of Santa Monica; their daughter Sierra; her daughter Bonnie Briggs Rich, of Santa Barbara; granddaughter Danielle and grandson Sean; stepdaughter Ann Briggs Becker (Don); step-grandsons Geoffrey (Laura) and their children Josh and Ryan and Christopher (Cindy) and their children Zack and Nick.

A memorial service for the immediate family will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica.