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Frances Clark Obituary
Frances M. Clark, 86, of Bethlehem passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2010, at the Hospice House of the VNA of St. Lukes. Born in Scranton, on January 20, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Leslie and Lily Marsh. Walter F. Clark, her husband of 56 years passed away in 2002. She was educated in Scranton Public Schools and graduated from Keystone Jr. College. She took courses in Early Childhood Development at Northampton Community College. She pioneered the development of a nursery school in the Bethlehem area with her first class in a private home in 1957, moving on to a church and then to the YWCA, where she worked for 20 years. It was while there she earned the Child Development Award in 1977. The national CDA Consortium was established in 1972 in an attempt to assess the competence of child-care personnel and to grant credentials to those persons assessed as competent in the fast-growing child care field. In 1982 she was instrumental in starting a nursery school at Messiah Lutheran Church. She and her partner, Myra Jones, retired in 2008, giving Frances a total of 51 productive years in the care of pre-schoolers. She joined the Girl Scouts as a young girl and followed it through to become a Troop leader for several years in Bethlehem. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem since 1954 and was an active leader of young peoples groups in earlier years. Survivors: Grandson, Gary Mertz; his wife, Trish and daughter, Skylar of New Paris, PA. She was predeceased by her son Gary who died in 1970 and her daughter, Phyllis Mertz Cleaveland who died in 2008. Services: Memorial Service, 11 a.m. Saturday, May 8, 2010, in the chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 2344 Center Street, Bethlehem. Family and friends will be received from 10 a.m. until service time. Interment will be private with the family. Arrangements are with the Snyder-Hinkle & Lunsford Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made at www.shlfh.com. Contributions: Memorials may be made to the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, 1610 14th St. NW Suite 300, Rochester, MN 55901. Website: www.rls.org
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Memories and Condolences
for Frances Clark
5 Entries
May 18, 2010
Dear Gary and family, Debra and I extend our deepest empathy and sympathy to you. The many good times that your grandparents extended to us in their home and the Bethlehem Club will , always, be fondly remembered. They were not only great individuals but a wonderful couple, too! Regards, Wayne and Debra Dubbs
Tracy Louise Smith
May 10, 2010
Frances was a cousin of my grandmother Weesie (Louise) and I first met her in Ogunquit. My family owns the Ogunquit Camera Shop and she had come in with a problem camera. My dad Larry started up a conversation with her while looking at the camera (where are you from, etc..) and discovered that this woman was actually the first cousin to his wifes mother! The two had been out of touch for some time and through a chance conversation in Ogunquit, were reconnected. Frances would always come in and say hi when she was in Ogunquit. She was such a kind and sweet woman and we will miss her visits to Ogunquit.
Penny Richards
May 9, 2010
I met Frances at the memorial of her cousin (my grandmother) Louise--she was indeed a lovely woman.
deb shuck
May 6, 2010
Fran was such a lovely woman! I had the privilege of working with her for several years at Messiah Child Center. She always took an interest in my own children too. She will be so greatly missed! Deb Shuck
Pam
May 4, 2010
Rest in peace. Please give Craig, Phyllis, Gary, Walt, Lilly and Mom a big hug for me! See you in Ogunquit ;)
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