Elizabeth H Clark

Elizabeth Hope Clark passed peacefully on Sunday September 3rd 2023 at her home in Las Vegas Nevada. Her two sons William and Joseph surrounded her. Elizabeth was 86 years of age.

Born Elizabeth Hope Niles in Worcester Massachusetts on May 3rd 1937; Elizabeth moved to Florence Massachusetts when she was 10 years of age with her two brothers Sherman and Kenneth. There the three children would welcome their fourth sibling Mary Ellen when Elizabeth was 13 years old.

Elizabeth attended the Florence Grammar school and Northampton High School graduating with honors in 1955. This accomplishment earned her a scholarship to Smith College; a beloved milestone that would echo throughout the rest of her life.

In 1957 she met her future husband Edwin Clark Jr.; also of Northampton. The young couple married later that same year and Elizabeth accompanied her husband to the Midwest where he pursued a degree in engineering. Returning to the Berkshires in the 1960s Ed and Elizabeth purchased a small farm in the town of Chesterfield where they raised their two young sons William and Joseph. Elizabeth embraced her new country life renovating their 1850s house and gardening; a passion learned from her mother and father who gave her a love for all living things at an early age.

Through a fellow gardening enthusiast, Elizabeth learned of a new program being offered at her beloved Smith College offering a first time opportunity for women who paused the educational pursuits to marry and have children. She enrolled in the Ada Comstock program in the late 1970s and earned her bachelor’s degree in American studies. In the 1980s, she gained a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. With her children now in their teen years, Elizabeth started her career as an educator first the Common School in Amherst and then at the Smith Campus School in Northampton. Her calling to teach in the public sector led her to the town of Southampton where she would teach 2nd grade for the remainder of her working years until she retired in 1996.

Upon retiring; her husband, also a veteran educator at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, the retired couple moved to the town of Dalton Massachusetts. Here they enjoyed 10 years of retired life together gardening and traveling.

In 2008 after her husband’s death, Elizabeth joined her 2 sons who both work in Las Vegas Nevada. Their family compound included a house Elizabeth would use seasonally until 2015 when she would make Las Vegas her permanent place of residence.

With gardening still very much a passion, Elizabeth continued to enjoy traveling and entertaining. She hosted discussion groups at her home, through her church, and pursued her interest in people, friendships and truth through the remainder of her life. Elizabeth will be remembered for her intelligence, gracious compassion for all people and the pursuit of knowledge through education.

Rest in peace beautiful Elizabeth

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