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Willy Clark Ph.D.

Willy Clark Obituary

Willy (Wilson) CLARK, PhD

December 13, 1927- June 14, 2012

Willy died at age 84, after a life-time spent following her two loves, Theater and Education. Willy married fellow college mate, Allen Clark, and they built a life together until his death in 1976. After graduating from Whitworth College, she taught high school for fifteen years and then moved to Shoreline Community College where she taught speech and drama for 34 years before retiring to Professor Emeritus status, and an opportunity to continue her passion for the sea on her little boat, Tugwillow as well as new plays with Shoreline Arts Council. She was Founding Artistic Director for La Pensee Discovery! Theater, specializing in new plays. She held B.S. and B.Ed. degrees from Whitworth College, and M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the UW. Awards include the Kennedy Center Medallion for work with The American College Theater Association New Plays Division, and Exemplary Status from the Washington Community College Humanities Association. She also co-owned American Canadian Champion Sheydon's Harlequin, a Tibetan Terrier.

There will be no memorial services per Willy's request. Please email: [email protected] for friends and family informal gathering information. Remembrances may be made to benefit the Shoreline Community College Scholarship fund, or for research of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Arrangements by American Memorial @ 1-800-248-1745.

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Published by The Seattle Times on Aug. 5, 2012.

Memories and Condolences
for Willy Clark

18 Entries

John Vincent

January 25, 2025

I was in Marat Sade and Fiddler on the Roof at Shoreline CC. Also did a play at La Pensee playhouse. Did a bit of street theater at U District street fair. I was really crazy but she pulled the best out of me. Wonderful person.

D. Martin

January 2, 2023

Those were good times. Your door at school or at home was always open. Thank you for being so consistently supportive Willy.

jody Bartee-Albert

June 11, 2020

Here it is, only 3 more days and it will be 8 years. I am finally attacking the overwhelming task of unpacking your life and determining which to keep, share as directed, and direct others to family and friends and then donate to non-profits to benefit those less fortunate as you would have done. Please forgive my tardiness; I have tried two other times, but felt emotionally drained because it's like throwing away a person's life--especially your writing which is not readable (laughing out loud). Thank you sweet teacher, friend, mentor, family member. I still miss you. Hope you and Mom are kicking up some dust, upstairs. Love Jody

April 6, 2013

I'm 70 yrs old this year, but I remember acting in my first play at Evergreen High School, under Willy's direction. As a teenager I saw her perform in several plays in south Seattle. I was there when she and Allen started the theatre and the coffee house at the Woodland Park Presbyterian Church--and they participated in my wedding at that church. Over the years we lost contact, but much of the self-confidence I have today was instilled and supported by Willy. I expect there are many others who would say the same.

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August 16, 2012

I live some distance away and can't get to the event. However, I hope you lift a glass to Willie for me and for all the students she had over the years who benefited so much from her wisdom, kindness, and expertise. She stands out as one of only a couple of great teachers in my life—she mentored many of us over time, including my drama crowd friends over 45 years ago. As a community college instructor myself, I am especially aware of her special abilities to take advantage of prime teachable moments while using her unique, creative ideas and inspiration to focus the attentions and cooperation of primarily young college students with diverse things on their minds. She used people's talents to help them gain a sense of themselves and to support quality productions. She was one of a kind-- and so was her husband, Al—also a joyous, fun, and brilliant teacher. Willie's passing marks the end of an era in Pacific Northwest theater—and the quality education that she provided to so many.
Kathy H.
Olympia, WA

August 16, 2012

Greetings:

I happened to Google Willy Clark's name this morning and learned that Willy passed away in June.

I found the obituary for her that was published in the Seattle Times on August 5, 2012.

I was in a couple of plays at La Pensee Players when I was in high school, including The Serpent.

I would be interested in finding out when an informal gathering in Willy's memory might be scheduled.

I'm also wondering what will/has become of Willy's archives of her (and Allen's) years in theater?

Has Misha Berson of the Seattle Times been notified of Willy's death?

Yankee Johnson was involved with La Pensee Players when I was involved and I think he was a close friend of Willy and Allen's at that time.

If he's still in the Seattle area, and he hasn't heard or been notified, I think he would want to know.

Willie and Allen were pioneers in Seattle theatre - staging early works by Pinter and other "avant-garde" playwrights before Seattle's fledgling professional theatres like ACT did.

I saw Willie's brilliant performance of "Bound in the Shallows" at La Pensee Players in the early '70s.

Rick Mc

August 16, 2012

Thank you for the message about the party. I plan to be there. I still feel the loss of Willy as I am sure you do. I took a friend to lunch at the Port thinking of Willy and to tell the owner of the Café that she was gone. She again mentioned the book Willy gave her.
I miss the Saturday mornings we spent together for so many years but time goes on. Willy was lucky to have you and Andee also. As you know she called you her daughter and Andee her granddaughter. She was so proud of you.
See you Thursday.
Marianne

August 16, 2012

August 15, 2012

Mrs Clark was certainly an inspiration in my life! I was lucky enough to have her as my speech and drama teacher at Evergreen HS 62-64. She taught me that it was ok to be afraid of speaking in front of people, and taught me that I was strong enough to do it..many times I have been able to remember her words of encouragement..opening night as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, her smile and thumbs up were all I needed to say raise the curtain...my initiation into Thespians as her "Littlest Angel" will always be a special memory, only made possible by an incredible lady...She was a special lady...you have earned your wings Mrs. Clark....soar in the heavens as you soared on earth

Joy Garnes-Garner

Larry Albert

August 12, 2012

Willy was my friend for over 25 years. We had a rocky start but by the end she was a much a part of my family as my wife and children. Over the years we had many "traditions" develope; like xmas and birthday dinners, opening nights and so on. We shared a love of baseball and the Mariners. She has left a huge hole with her passing and I will try to fill it with loving memories of a soul that was gentle and kind. Rest in peace my dear friend, I'm glad we got to say goodbye.

Jo Adamson

August 12, 2012

When I learned of Willy Clark's passing in June, I felt as if a family member had died.
Indeed one had-- a member of my theatre family; a person who not only loved theatre but supported the individuals who were lucky enough to be a part of it.

For over thirty years, Willy Clark has affected my writing life, and through the various theatre productions at La Pensee Discovery Theatre!, Shoreline Community College, and Shoreline Readers' Theatre, I developed a deep affection for this remarkable, talented, and selfless person. A talented writer herself, she put the needs of other writers above her own creative impulses.

As a young girl from Eastern Washington, I entered a writer's conference with my first play. Willy, one of the judges at the Pacific Northwest Writers' Conference, flagged my verse play and wrote me a note saying she was interested in talking to the author of “Bound in Shallows”.

From that first meeting at the college, we connected. I was almost giddy with excitement; here was a woman who valued what I'd written enough to stage it. She was surprised, she said, that someone ‘so young' could write a play about a middle-aged woman who was trapped in an unfulfilled life: a woman ‘bound in shallows'.

When we talked about how my play came to be written, I learned that she once lived in Spokane, and that her husband had been a student of my cousin Arthur, who taught physics at Central Washington University.

Willy and Allen Clark staged the play, and when Willy expressed an interest in playing the part of the woman, I couldn't have been more flattered. (She played the woman brilliantly.) That play, as well as many others that I wrote over the years was the beginning of a long and rewarding involvement with Willy. In the early 1980s, Willy staged several of my plays at La Pensee Discovery! theatre in a three-night play festival and I was told that it was the first time she'd ever staged a festival of plays written by a single author.

Willy, even though you're no longer here, you'll be a part of my life for the rest of my life. Your life (and the way you lived it) will be a constant reminder of all that's good about theatre and an inspiration to us, young and not-so-young, who love it.

If it's true that ‘water seeks its own level”, the level sought would be no less than than ocean depth; it would take an ocean to hold all your friends, colleagues, and others you've influenced over your lifetime. As for the metaphoric ‘ocean' I'd like to think that you're on your beloved boat, Tugwillow” and heading out to open sea.

August 11, 2012

Hi. I just heard about the passing of Willy. She was an instructor of mine at SCC in the early '70's. What a great talent and lady she was. I remember gathering at her house. Always a fun, stimulating event. She will be missed.
Take care,
Patty Burke Butler

Karl Holzheimer

August 8, 2012

Willy--sorry, she was always Willy--was an inspiration during my days at Shoreline Community College. I studied and performed in improvisation, children's theatre and reader's theatre under her tutelage in the early seventies. During those years I also was fortunate enough to work with her in a couple of children's productions at La Pensee. I had the honor of reconnecting with her about ten years ago when she invited me to be a part of her Reader's Theatre company for the Shoreline Arts Council. Many, many productions and wonderful memories of the folks that were involved with them. Willy was committed to giving local writers a venue which allowed them to hear their work performed before a live audience, an invaluable gift to the community. She is irreplaceable and will be greatly missed.

David Shepherd

August 5, 2012

As an former actor for several La Pensee! productions and readings, in the 1980s, I have to say that Willy Clark was one of the nicest people I have ever met. RIP, Willy.

ruth sullivan

August 5, 2012

Mrs. Clark was an inspiring teacher at Evergreen High School. She brought the BEST of herself to class each day. We loved the preparation for plays, mostly Shakespeare,the excitement of dress rehearsals and the adrenaline of the first night performance. She taught me so much more than Drama and Speech!

August 5, 2012

Thank you, Willie, for your memoirs of childhood and life. We will miss you!

r. sullivan

August 5, 2012

Dear People,
I hope this is the right venue to offer my condolences at the passing of Mrs. Willy Clark. I attended Evergreen High School from 1961-1963. Mrs. Clark was an inspirational person as well as a quality teacher. During this time, I believe she was getting her master's degree. While sitting watching Shakespeare in the Park last week, my sister Nancy and I were reminiscing. We were so lucky to perform in many Shakespeare plays during our high school career. I believe Mrs. Clark was writing her master's thesis on the adaptability of presenting Shakespeare by high school students. The costumes, the drama Oh! what a feast for a high school student! What an engaging teacher she was..... I had her for Speech as well as being able to perform in plays. She was creative in her assignments, engaged the learner (quite a feat with large class sizes and rambunctious teenagers.) She was organized, calm and had great classroom management skills. An assignment I recall today...we were given about 30 seconds to portray something that happened on an elevator. I remember pretending that the door began to close on me and getting laugh for "hamming" it up. What a intoxicating elixir...laughter.

Sorry this is turning into a novel but I wanted to express my graditude to a wonderful, creative, inspiring teacher.
I send healing thought that memories of Mrs. Clark will sustain you.
Sincerely,
Ruth (Fawcett) Sullivan

Kim Roff Opheim

August 5, 2012

Willy gave me my love of Reader's Theatre. I loved attending her classes at Shoreline. She was a wonderful woman, teacher, director and friend. I miss her

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