Patricia Newlon Clarke

Patricia N. Clarke, 82, passed away January 28, 2011. She was born on February 13, 1928 in Fredericksburg, Virginia to Julian C. and Miriam C. Clarke. She graduated from James Monroe High School and attended Mary Washington College, the Southeastern Institute for Chamber of Commerce Executives at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the University of North Carolina Management Institute.

In her teens, Pat was a member of the Entre Nous Club, an all-female social club. Her career was varied and rewarding and she had a life-long love of history. A native of Fredericksburg, Pat was associated with the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, she was an active member of the Virginia Travel Bureau, and on August 16, 1956 played the part of Mary Washington in the Ferry Farm re-enactment in a scene from George Washington’s boyhood days in the filming by Coronet Magazine of “The Boyhood of George Washington.” The educational film was used in schools throughout the country. In 1957, she played Thomas Jefferson’s wife in the “Around the World on a Roll of Film” feature of the International Photographic Exposition at the National Guard Armory in Washington, D.C. She taught physical education in the Stafford and Arlington County school systems, worked for the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, and was employed by the National Education Association in Washington, D.C. as a staff correspondent with the Division of Press, Radio, and Television Relations. In 1967, Pat was hired by Luray Caverns and when Stoner’s Store was leased to the Corporation in January, 1968, she was named as general manager of the Museum. She retired from Luray Caverns after 26 years, and went on to successfully manage The Goober Peanut Shop, and with the help of a limited staff, she cooked and sold peanuts, nationwide.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Anne C. Mann. She is survived by her beloved niece, Jane S. Gray, wife of Jeffrey L. Gray; her nephews, James W. Mann, Jr., husband of Kathy W. Mann, and Jeffrey F. Mann; J. William Mann, her brother-in-law; and several great-nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Cox Road, Suite 130, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., February 2, 2011 in the chapel of Mullins & Thompson Funeral Home, with Interment to immediately follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.