Mavis Clark

CLARK, Mavis Audrey (nee Bain) Passed away peacefully at Marion Hopsice Vancouver, BC on Sunday, March 19, 2006. She was surrounded by those she loved dearly. She is survived by her brother Dr. Stanley Bain from Ontario and her children John, Bruce, Jennifer and Christy. She is predeceased by their father, Jim Clark. All of her grandchildren, Huxley and Eliot Bentz, Hamish Marissen Clarkand James Clark will miss her generous, whimsical presence. She will also be sorely missed by her dearest friend Gerry Carter, whose life she enlarged and enriched. Mavis was born on February 8, 1931 in Glasgow, Scotland where her dear parents Dr. Theodore and Audrey Bain made their home for five years. Later she travelled Canada with her family, living in many communities including William Head, then a quarantine station, Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa and Vancouver. She graduated in Sciences from UBC in 1953 with a degree in home economics. This led to a short career as a dietician at the Royal Columbian Hospital in the early years of her marriage. Mavis made many life long friends at UBC as a sorority girl in Alpha Gamma Delta. Mavis and Jim married in 1955. They raised their children in Burnaby where she made a significant contribution as a volunteer. She founded the first non-profit daycare in the city at St. John the Divine church.Mavis was justifiably proud of her role as co-founder of the Burnaby Family Life Institute, an organization dedicated to strengthening families a cause to which she remained devoted. Mavis earned a graduate degree in human behaviour from Whitworth Collegein Spokane, Washington in 1980. She then established herself in practice as a marriage and family therapist in Vancouver. At the end of her career, she was honoured by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (BC) for her role in helping to establish the profession in British Columbia. Mavis loved people. She loved listening and she loved talking. She was eloquent and true in her words and emotions. She was curious, intelligent and brimming with feeling. She was a free spirit. She painted, created and wrote. She pursued art studies for many years while she raised her four children. And she painted at her studio on Galiano every year until this one. Mavis and Jim bought their property on Galiano Island in 1969. After her children had grown, that property on the island's magnificent south end, became her home for many months of every year. Mavis developed a deep love of Galiano's natural beauty. She spent thousands of hours wanderingits woods, swimming in its ocean and reflecting on nature's gift to us. She expressed her passion for the place through her work as a director of the Galiano Conservancy Association. Mavis fiercely defended the island from threats including development, pollution and non-native species. She will be lovingly remembered by many, many friends on Galiano for her contributions as a member of that close knit community. A service to remember Mavis will be held at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral (690 Burrard St. Vancouver) on Friday, March 24 at 3 pm. Another cleebration of her life will be held on Galiano Island at a later date. Mavis would have been grateful if, instead of flowers, her friends made a donation in her name to the Galiano Conservancy Association. 220979