Merrilee Hillam Clark

Our beloved mother, sister, and Grandma Merrilee Hillam Clark passed away at the age of 71 on February 10, 2024, in Orem, Utah. She is survived by her children Elizabeth (Brandon) Reynolds, Christian Clark, Catherine Clark, Jonathan (Kaylie) Clark and Nicholas Clark, as well as four sisters, one brother, and eight grandchildren. We all miss her dearly and cherish her memory.
Merrilee was born to Duane Folsom Hillam and Jean Irene Hillam (née Anderson) on July 18, 1952 in Durango, Colorado. She was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and enjoyed serving in Nursery and Primary callings with children. After spending her formative years in Utah, she married Howard Douglas Clark. They ended up in Henderson, Nevada where she had two daughters and three sons.
Merrilee valued education. After divorcing and relocating from Henderson to Orem with the children, she worked her way through an accounting bachelor's and master's degree at BYU, eventually passing the CPA exam (which she was happy to never take again). She liked to say she could handle any kind of math as long as a dollar sign was in front of it. After several years in accounting, she decided to return to BYU for law school and practice tax law. Apparently the CPA exam wasn't enough fun, so she decided she wanted to experience the bar exam too.
She had an appreciation for art, even beyond her jokes about being "baroque" when you're out of "Monet." We remember her love for Cassatt, Rembrandt, and Klimt, showing her keen sense for beauty in its many expressions. Her home contained treasures of statuettes and bejeweled eggs, but she'd probably roll her eyes at the suggestion that she was showing off wealth. "What wealth?" Instead, it was clearly her own heartfelt enjoyment, as witnessed by the fancily-dressed Barbie dolls she displayed with them and valued just as much.
Music was also a major part of her life. She was noticeably touched by the gorgeous compositions of "The Lark Ascending," the "Gymnopedies," and "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair." At heart, though, she was a rock 'n' roll gal. Sometimes on quiet evenings, the earth would suddenly begin to shake, and Led Zeppelin would rumble out of the home stereo. She'd then turn up the volume a bit more. Similarly, on Saturday mornings she'd blast her favorite disco hits, spurring her teenage children to clean up the house. They were always happy to oblige, probably, and at any rate it's hard to mount an opposition to the strains of "Shake Your Groove Thing," especially when your mother is gleefully following the admonition of the song. As a final note, we have a video of her performing karaoke of "When I'm Sixty-Four" (at seventy years old) in a packed Seattle cafe. She handily won over the not-easily-impressed urbanites with her voice, gestures, and commanding stage presence.
These stories show just how much her sense of humor shone through in everything she did. That sense of humor was playful, devious, and sharp. She was always quick to laugh and to make others laugh. Her jokes were never mean-spirited, though she did enjoy giving her loved ones a hard time occasionally. She gave as good as she got.
She loved children. Everybody who knew her understood that one of her greatest joys in life was spending time with her grandkids. Even later in life, with compounding health difficulties, she would relish going to visit the little ones. There would be a slightly wicked smile on her face when a grandchild was being naughty, as young children often are. She was candid about one advantage of being a grandparent: you don't have to be an authority figure. Even so, she liked to reminisce about her own kids' wanton acts of destruction in their youths, having become able to laugh about it. But she also remembered the proud moments she had as a mother, and all this showed how deeply she cared for her children.
Merrilee touched the lives of countless others with her kindness and compassion. She loved with all her heart, and she was loved just as much. She is now reunited with her parents and her sister Judy. We'll always remember her.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 16 at 10:45 a.m. at the Suncrest 9th Ward, 140 N 400 W, in Orem. This is preceded by a viewing at 10 a.m., and followed by a luncheon at same location.
Interment in Salt Lake City Cemetery.