Norma Jean Clark

Norma Jean Clark, faithful servant of the Lord, aged 87, passed on to glory in New Braunfels, Texas, on August 22, 2025. Norma's life was marked by her deep faith, love of music, faithful study of the Bible, and devotion to family.

Born January 14, 1938, in Harrisburg, Illinois, Norma was the eldest daughter of Esco Hanks and Mamie Marie (Reynolds) Hanks. She loved the acres of farm lands from which her family sold vegetables to others in their inner-city neighborhood. However, due to insect allergies, she needed to stay indoors when her parents and three siblings tended to the farm lands. The Lord used this time to draw her to music. Following the inspiration of a neighborhood friend who played piano and attended church regularly, Norma began to take piano lessons and also picked up the violin while attending Longfellow Grade School in Indianapolis. She loved music and, as a teenager, was moved to tears when she saw Liberace play "Claire de Lune" on TV. She graduated from Southport High School after the family moved to the suburbs of Indianapolis.

Norma developed a love for travel while working as a secretary with the Indiana chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where she also served as an escort on trips for those suffering from this disease. She then followed her love of music, and desire to serve the Lord, to Tennessee Temple University, where she met and married her husband, Chaplain (Colonel) William (Bill) J. Clark. She graduated in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in music after performing "Claire de Lune" and other beautiful music in her senior piano recital.

Following Bill's completion of seminary and the birth of their first two children, William and Elizabeth, Norma served alongside Bill throughout his Army Chaplain career until his retirement in 1996 after 27 years of active duty service. She faithfully managed the family stateside during Bill's deployments to Vietnam in 1969-70 and the DMZ in Korea in 1973-74. One of her highest compliments was from her son, then 15, who said, "Mom, no matter where we go, you always make a house a home!" Norma made the most of each housing assignment for her family and friends. Her love for and training in music and the Bible were utilized to enhance their ministry. She led choirs and women's Bible studies at nearly every assignment. While stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, she directed a post-wide Christmas Cantata. Norma served as the organist, pianist, or choir director in most of the Protestant congregations led by Chaplain Bill, including the Army chapel in Wurzburg, Germany, where she had her third child, Rebekah.

Norma delighted in being a mom to her three children and enjoyed spending special time with each one. The children remember fondly her "busy bags" that occupied them while she led weekly rehearsals. Norma also found joy in her grandsons, and they could count on her to slip a little money into the cards she sent regularly for most holidays and their birthdays. She demonstrated deep faith as she walked alongside her daughter, Elizabeth, through her 15-month journey with a rare form of cancer until she passed away in 1990 at age 20.

Norma's ministry extended into retirement in her Bible studies with friends in the Canyon Lake/New Braunfels area. She was also an active member in Singing Women of Texas and enjoyed meeting with ladies from across the state to sing in a variety of venues.

Norma was preceded in death by her parents, Esco and Mamie Marie Hanks; brother Ronald Hanks; brother and sister-in-law Frederick and Thelma Hanks; and her daughter Elizabeth Lynn Clark. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Chaplain (Colonel) William James Clark; son and daughter-in-law William James and Tonya Sue Clark Jr. and their children Blake, Marshall, and William Clark III; daughter and son-in-law Rebekah Johana and John Paul Muros and their sons Nicholas and Samuel Muros; and her sister Bonnie Linton.

God's amazing creation spoke to Norma since she was a child. She appreciated the beauty of plants, trees, flowers, and a drenching rainstorm. She enjoyed observing the Texas Hill Country from the deck of their Canyon Lake home before moving to New Braunfels, where she appreciated the deer wandering in the neighborhood. As she departs from our presence here, we find comfort in knowing she is with her Lord, and heavenly family, in the beauty of His glory that will never perish.

The family will inter Norma's ashes at the Clark burial site on Chaplain's Hill in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity that will continue to extend God's love to the world.

~Psalm 121~