Mary Louise Clarke

CLARKE (Hastings), Mary Louise

Mary Louise Hastings Clarke was born in Decatur on March 9, 1926. She was the oldest child of Louise Brown and Donald M. Hastings. Mary Louise grew up in Atlanta, Decatur, and on the Hastings family farm, Floweracres, near Lovejoy, Georgia, attending the Lovett School and Washington Seminary. She graduated with an AB from Vassar College at a time when many from the South did not travel outside the region to attend university. After her graduation from Vassar, she studied at the University of Birmingham (England), Stratford upon Avon and Emory University. Completing her studies, she returned to Atlanta, where she was employed by the Davison – Paxon Company and The Stage, Inc.

In 1951, Mary Louise married Thomas Hal Clarke, of Atlanta, at St. George's Episcopal Church, Griffin, Georgia, with a reception in the gardens of Floweracres. They have three children: Thomas Hal Clarke, Jr., Mary Katherine Clarke Hamilton Brandy and Rebecca DeSaussure Clarke Morrison. Mary Louise and Hal lived in Atlanta except for four years when Hal was a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in Washington, DC. Beginning in the late 1960s, Mary Louise and Hal began spending time in Ireland, where they bought and restored a manor house, Kilfane House. They spent most summers there as long as they were able.

Throughout her life, Mary Louise had broad interests and volunteered with many organizations, such as the English Speaking Union, the Junior League of Atlanta, the Atlanta Speech School, the Atlanta Music Club, the Atlanta Opera Guild, the Alliance Theater, the Colonial Dames, the Kilkenny Archeological Society, the Friends of St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny and the Tulleherin Heritage Society. She was very interested in family history and was the family historian for both her family and Hal's. She and Hal also traveled extensively and had friends all over the world. It was a joy for Mary Louise to maintain contact with family and friends throughout her life. She was a faithful correspondent both by post and by email. Her iPad was her valued link to the broader world. She communicated daily with immediate as well as extended family and many friends. She greatly enjoyed and valued these relationships.

While Mary Louise had wide interests and was very well-read, her primary focuses were her family and her Christian faith. She was happiest surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren, at Kilfane during the many summers that the family gathered there. The large house easily accommodated her three children and their spouses as well as her eight grandchildren. It was a joy to her and Hal to have the whole family together. She cheerfully prepared meals for the whole family and hosted gatherings for family and friends. The family fondly remembers the family getting together at the end of each day for "Civilized Hour" when every family member could talk about their adventures that day. Holidays were also joyous occasions at their Atlanta house.

Mary Louise was a deeply committed Christian. At every stage of her life she focused on her faith and saw the way she lived as her response of gratitude to God's grace. She was active in the churches she attended, teaching Sunday School, participating in Bible Studies and regularly attending worship. Over the years, she belonged to First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, North Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, Virginia and Christ Church Presbyterian in Atlanta. She and Hal regularly worshipped at the Kilkenny Presbyterian Church when they were in Ireland. After she moved to Saint Anne's Terrace, Mary Louise participated in weekly Chapel and a prayer group in addition to worshipping at Christ Church Presbyterian.

Mary Louise was preceded in death by Hal, who died in 2015; her brother, Donald M. Hastings, Jr.; and her son-in-law, Bill Hamilton. She is survived by her three children and their spouses – Hal and Nan, Katie and Eliot and Becky and Ralph; as well as her eight grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM, on Thursday, December 5, at Christ Church Presbyterian, 1740 Peachtree St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30309. The Rev. Pete Jackson will lead the service. There will be a visitation at the church at 10:00 AM, before the service. Following the service, there will be a private family interment at Westview Cemetery.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Christ Church Presbyterian, 1740 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30309, to Saint Anne's Terrace, 3100 Northside Parkway, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327, or to a charity of your choice.