Eunice "Marty" Clark Harper

San Francisco - Eunice "Marty" Clark Harper passed away peacefully on October 5, 2023. Marty was born in 1936 in Elmira, New York. She was the middle child of Catalina "Cata" Ferretto and her husband, Frederick "Ted" Clark. Ted met Cata in her native Argentina while he was working for Citi Argenta and eventually the couple settled in Elmira to start a family. Ted was a hardworking insurance man who worked long hours and Cata was a devoted wife and mother.

Marty graduated from Elmira Free Academy in 1954. She first attended Ohio State and then transferred to Skidmore College, where she graduated with a degree in Psychology and Art History.

After college, Marty taught 4th grade back in Elmira, but was soon lured to San Francisco. She and her college roommate took a cross country trip to California, but when they arrived she had no luck acquiring a teaching job, so Marty started working at TWA (Trans World Airlines) as a reservation agent. She stayed with TWA for 30 years and loved to travel. Over the years, Marty traveled much of the world including Mexico, Japan, the UK, Europe, Peru and Argentina.

Marty met her first husband, Doug Ellis, through her sister and they were married in 1964 and the marriage lasted for 5 years. Later, Marty met the love of her life, David Harper, at a Chambers Brothers concert and they were married in 1974. Marty and David lived in San Francisco's Sunset District, until he passed away in 1998. She then moved into the Haight Ashbury district where she lived until 2023, when she moved to Atlanta, Georgia to be closer to her family. Marty lived in San Francisco for 60 years in total.

Marty was an avid San Francisco Giants fan, who attended hundreds of games and enjoyed "keeping score"as she watched and cheered. Marty also loved cinema, modern art museums and cultural events. She enjoyed the company of her Calvary Presbyterian Church seniors group, cinema club and book group. She was a talented painter and enjoyed regular painting classes with many like-minded friends. She also gardened regularly at her neighborhood community garden. Marty was the family photographer, with well over 70,000 treasured photos. She always had a camera in her hand. Additionally, Marty was an activist. She attended many protests over the years to campaign for civil rights.

Marty was always very active in her community and amassed a group of talented, eclectic friends who became like family. Marty was most proud of being a loving and dedicated caretaker for her many friends and family who predeceased her. Marty will be remembered for her beautiful smile, her devotion to family and friends and the occasional outlandishly inappropriate comment that would make everyone laugh.

Marty was predeceased by her parents, her sister Selika, her beloved husband of 29 years, David, and her many cherished cats. She leaves behind her brother Robert (Suzanne), nephew Bruce (Nancy), and nieces Kirsten, Stacy and Rachel (Jimmy). She also leaves her 3 grand nephews, D'Andre (Anona) Devin (Julissa) Donovan (Maria) and two great grand-nieces. On her husband's side, she leaves her cousin-in-law Carol (Cesar) to whom she will remain eternally grateful for her care and friendship while she was still living in San Francisco and their children Aria and Daniel.