Obituary of Carolyn Jeanne Clark

Carolyn Jeanne (Smith) Clark was born March 28, 1943 in Georges Valley, Centre County, Pennsylvania, the second daughter and third of three children born to R. Elwood Smith and Florence Grace (Rearick) Smith, and died on Friday, February 16, 2024, 18 days after her husband, at the age of 80, from the long-term complications of a stroke.

She graduated as a National Merit Scholar finalist from Penns Valley School District in Centre County, PA and began her college studies at Penn State's University Park campus, where she also began folk dancing with "Interlandia", a Penn State student dance group. This is where she met Melvin E. Clark, a fellow folk dancer and a meteorology major at Penn State. They were married in Centre Hall on Dec. 8, 1962, and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary this past December. She continued her college studies in North Carolina when her husband was stationed there, and received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University while her husband was stationed in New York.

While her husband was on active military service Carolyn lived in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Germany, and Illinois, and the family returned to Pennsylvania after her husband retired from military service. She then earned a second bachelor's degree (in computer science) from Penn State and was employed several years as an Applications Programmer at Penn State's Center for Academic Computing. When a second income to pay for her sons' college expenses was no longer needed, she gladly reclaimed the occupation of "Housewife".

Carolyn enjoyed reading, assembling puzzles, playing multi-dimensional computer games, surfing the internet, and keeping houseplants in all the windows when and where possible. Carolyn continued her folk dancing during her earlier adulthood, and served as an officer in many of those groups. At one time or another Carolyn did international folk dance, both modern western square dance and traditional square dance, contra dance, English country dance, Scottish country dance, ballroom couple dance, and Bavarian/Tyrolean folk dance. In addition to being a member of a Bavarian dance group in the U.S. she was a member of 3 different Bavarian/Tyrolean dance groups in the four years the family lived in Germany.

She was predeceased by her parents, her brother-in-law Richard Fuller, sisters-in-law Rosalie Clark and Pat Clark, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is survived by her sons, Alex of State College and Morgan (Batja) of New Jersey; her sister Lucille (Charles) Fuller of Somerset, PA; her brother Don Smith of California, and many nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends.

Carolyn will be laid to rest with her husband at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. A private memorial service will be held at the convenience of the family.