Nora Joan Clark

Nora Joan CLARK Nora Joan Clark, age 85, of Seattle, Shoreline, and Edmonds, passed away peacefully on April 23, 2009. Born in London in 1923, Mrs. Clark, who went by Joan, was an accomplished musician, teacher of harp, promoter of folk harp, prolific writer and published author. Joan also devoted her life to her family, as wife and mother of four, and grandmother of six. Joan was encouraged to study music by her Irish mother, Norah Kitts Doe. Raised in Tacoma where her father was a physician, Joan started playing the Irish harp and later the large pedal harp. Along with her interest in music, Joan obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry in the 1940s. Joan married Byron J. Clark in 1948; they raised the family in Innis Arden. There she gave harp lessons to both children and adults at her home studio. She played classical harp at local functions, with the Cascade Symphony, and was a founding member of the Seattle Chapter of the American Harp Society. Joan studied harp with Lynne Palmer and at the University of Washington, playing harp with the U.W. Symphony Orchestra. Joan renewed her interest in the Irish harp in the 1960s. From 1966 to 1968 she was the harp teacher for a pilot program in the Seattle Public Schools, using new Troubadour Harps provided by Lyon & Healy. Along with her focus on bringing small harps to elementary school children, Joan was interested in the playing of the harp beyond orchestral settings. Active in the growth of the folk harp movement in the Pacific Northwest, Joan promoted, taught, and wrote about what would come to be known as the Celtic or Folk harp. She corresponded with many well-known harp players, sometimes hosting them in her home. Joan was a friend of local harpmakers as well; she purchased and commissioned the building of a number of small, hand-crafted harps from Northwest harpmakers. In 1975, Joan earned a second bachelor's degree at the University of Washington, with an emphasis on the Irish harp. Along with articles in the American Harp Journal and the Folk Harp Journal, Joan also wrote and distributed a newsletter of local harp activities for over fifteen years, Harps West. In 2003, North Creek Press published Joan's full-length book, The Story of the Irish Harp, Its History and Influence. Joan was an avid gardener, who spent much time in her greenhouse in her later years. She loved to grow flowers, and was a keen observer of the natural world, passing on her love of music, nature, and literature to her four children. Surviving family includes a son, Christopher Clark, a physician in Yakima; Chris and Patty have two daughters, Emily and Carrie, both of Seattle. Daughter Sylvia Stauffer, a gardener, and Rob Stauffer live in Bothell with children Phoebe and Richard. Two other sons are Peter Clark of Seattle, and Bennett Clark of Kenmore. Bennett and Anna Bezzo-Clark, both musicians, have two daughters, Adrienne and Ingrid. Joan's sister Patty Berg, her husband Bob Berg, niece Carolyn Berg and nephew Kenneth Berg, all live in the Seattle area. Joan taught her granddaughter Ingrid to play harp at an early age; she now plays Joan's Dusty Strings folk harp, studying with Phillip Boulding. Joan's final months were spent at Clare Bridge of Lynnwood, where she received exceptional and loving care. The family wishes to express our deepest thanks to Joan's caregivers, to Dr. Mary Ellen Tolberg of Edmonds, and to the nurses from Providence Hospice of Snohomish County.A private burial is arranged at Evergreen Washelli in Seattle.A memorial service will be held in the coming months.