Judith Clark

1945 - 2022

Judith Clark
July 26, 1945 - May 27, 2022
Judith Swope Clark, 49-year resident of Piedmont, CA, died May 27, 2022, at age 76 of Lewy Body dementia complications at her home in Piedmont.
Judie was born July 26, 1945, in the Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits, CA. Her father, Glenn Swope, was raised in Hayward, CA and her mother, Anita Hoffman, was raised in Oakland, CA. Judie's parents divorced in the early 1950s, a very difficult event for Judie, and they both continued to live most of the rest of their lives in Willits. Glenn, a CHP officer, died in 1995 and Anita died in 2010. Judie has one sibling, a younger sister, Jayne Brown, who now lives in Los Angeles near her son and Judie's adored nephew Troy Brown and his wife Mary.
Except for a brief detour with her mother and sister to Oakland during her parents' breakup, Judie grew up in Willits alongside Tom Clark in the same class until precocious Judie skipped 8th grade and stepped ahead to high school. Judie and Tom began dating in 1962 when they were 15. They married in Berkeley in 1968 and since then have lived their entire lives together. In 1973, shortly after Tom began practicing law, Judie and Tom purchased and moved to their house in Piedmont.
Judie was noteworthy for her fast mind, sharp wit, reading abilities, artistic sensibilities, organization skills, gentleness, love for animals and children, compassion for the disadvantaged, and completing daily New York Times crossword puzzles in ink.
Judie graduated from Willits High School in 1962 and in 1966 received a B.S. in Anthropology from the University of California Berkeley. For a brief period Judie taught school in Oakland. After helping put Tom through law school by working at UC Berkeley in various administrative assistant capacities, Judie graduated from Golden Gate Law School in 1977 and began practicing law at the Oakland law firm where she clerked while attending law school. Judie's legal career ended after her and Tom's daughter Olivia, their only child, was born in 1978, as Olivia had serious medical problems that required Judie's full attention.
Judie devoted much of her adult life to caring for her daughter Olivia and helping her overcome serious medical problems, including seizures resulting from removal of a brain tumor in 1984.
Judie was a very active quilter, designing and making quilts, often in her house, with two separate groups of other Piedmont mothers. She was also active for many years in Junior Alliance that supported Lincoln Child Center in Oakland and Piedmont's Dress Best for Less that supported the Piedmont Education Foundation.
Additionally, Judie was also very involved with her mother's family winery in the Napa Valley. Judie's maternal grandmother Rose was one of 12 children of late-1800s Swiss emigrants Anton and Caterina Nichelini who homesteaded and founded the still-operating Nichelini winery in Chiles Valley in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. Judie was instrumental in the formation of the Nichelini Family Corporation that gathered together in a unified corporate body the fractional interests of Anton's and Caterina's far-flung progeny. For many years Judie served as Secretary of the Nichelini Family Corporation. She was always very partial to her great uncle Fred Nichelini who was the founding President of the corporation.
In 2012 Judie was diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia and gradually lost her ability to speak, stand or walk. Eventually, Tom hired caregivers to help Judie in their home. In 2018 Tom added to their house a new downstairs bedroom, bathroom and kitchen extension, and installed a chairlift from the sidewalk up the 52 steps to their house, all especially designed to fully accommodate Judie. Tom's goal always was to keep Judie at home with him and a team of caregivers, no matter how her condition might worsen, and to insure that Judie's life would be as good as he could make it. Judie picked out their Piedmont house in 1972, loved it dearly and took the lead responsibility for a major renovation to the house in 1988. During their total of 61 years together, Judie was a faithful, honest and loving friend, as well as wife to Tom for 54 years. Tom has lost the best friend in his life. He will be eternally grateful that Judie civilized him, treated him so well despite his shortcomings and devoted her life to caring for their daughter Olivia.
During her final years struggling with dementia, Judie received excellent care from her several caregivers, Tina Smith, Ovetta and Shaniesa Gill, Nikki Howell, Nanettee Cansceco and Eden Wildemichael. Oakland Kaiser Permanente staff, especially nurse Dee Dee Bellong, provided wonderful in-home hospice care during the final weeks of Judie's life.
Tom was self-taught noncommercial winemaker. Judie and Tom, Tom's sister Joan and husband Dave Sinclair and Tom's brother Hugh, in 1982 purchased property in Sonoma County near Calistoga on Petrified Forest Road where over the next 33 years, operating under the name Petrified Forest Vineyards, they maintained rental property, planted a vineyard from which they made 22 annual vintages of wine, and constructed a cabin retreat. Judie did not drink wine, but happily and gracefully tolerated the family vineyard and wine making.
Judie and Tom especially enjoyed providing a second home to Micah Stamps, who was very much like a grandson to them and the actual grandson of their Willits classmates Sherry and Aubrey Stamps. Sherry was Judie's stepsister through her father Glenn and Aubrey was a very good friend of Tom's. When Sherry and Aubrey's oldest daughter, Melanie, separated during her pregnancy from her husband, she brought herself and her newly born son Micah home from the hospital in 2002 to live with Tom and Judie in their Piedmont house. After a few years, Melanie obtained her own apartment and then bought a condo unit, but Micah continued to spend many hours and overnight visits with Tom and Judie until his mother, Melanie, suddenly died at age 40 and, especially sadly for Judie, 9-year old Micah soon left the area and their lives to live with other relatives.
Judie was beloved by Tom's entire family. She was close almost her entire life to Dave Sinclair, her brother-in-law, and Warren Jorgensen, both Willits classmates of her and Tom. Judie was particularly grateful for her enduring life-long friendship with LeAnna Spence, her and Tom's classmate during their Willits years. In addition Judie cherished her close friendship with Tom's cousin James Curtiss and her sister-in-law Joan's close friend Peggy Cash.
Judie is survived by her husband Tom; her daughter Olivia of Pleasant Hill; her niece (Tom's brother Hugh's daughter) Sandhya Clark Singh (Steven) of Teaneck, New Jersey; her sister Jayne, of Los Angeles; Jayne's children, Judie's nephew Troy Brown (Mary) of San Pablo and Judie's niece Shari Brown of Santa Rosa; and many other good and excellent friends and extended family.