Ethel Mae Clark

Obituary & Life History

Ethel Mae (Kohlhepp) Clark, 85, of Bryan passed away on Sunday, July 25, 2010, at Carriage Inn. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 29,...

Ethel Mae (Kohlhepp) Clark, 85, of Bryan passed away on Sunday, July 25, 2010, at Carriage Inn. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at Hillier Funeral Home. Services are set for 2 p.m. Friday, July 30, at First United Methodist Church in Bryan. Interment will be in Lake View Cemetery in Eau Claire, Wis.

In an era when faith, compassion, and devotion are becoming rare qualities, Ethel was known as a shining example of all three traits. In her nearly 43 years in the Bryan-College Station area, Mrs. Clark was often recognized for her devotion to her church, family, and community, including receiving the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2005.

“In addition to her work in the community, my mother was also the foundation of our family,” said her son, Richard “Dick” Clark of Cincinnati. “She was always there to support my dad in his endeavors and that support continued for her sons and her grandchildren.”

She was born on May 4, 1925, in Eau Claire, Wis., to Arthur and Adelaide Kohlhepp. She graduated from North Central College in 1947 with a degree in religious education and history and worked intermittently as a schoolteacher and librarian for the next decade.

On August 5, 1951, Mrs. Clark married Donald “Don” Lee Clark in Eau Claire, Wisc. Last year, the couple celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary. Dr. and Mrs. Clark moved to Bryan in the fall of 1967 when Dr. Clark accepted a faculty position at Texas A&M University.

Since that time, Mrs. Clark has dedicated herself to volunteer activities in the Bryan-College Station area, including the HOSTS program, Flags Across Bryan, George Bush Library Associates, and Texas A&M Wesley Student Center. Mrs. Clark also was an active member of First United Methodist Church, where she participated in mission trips, sang in the choir, led Sunday school classes, and visited the sick and shut-ins several times a week.

“One of the things I remember growing up is going to nursing homes with her every Saturday when I was in town,” said her grandson, Bryan Clark of Naperville, Ill. “When you’re a kid, you don’t think of that as a great way to spend the afternoon, but it meant a lot to everyone she visited.”

Mrs. Clark also went out of her way to keep her community beautiful, walking several miles a day to pick up litter into her 70s. For her efforts, she was honored by the City of Bryan in 1993, the Bryan Rotary Club in 2001, Keep Brazos Beautiful in 2004, and the Copperfield Homeowners Association in 2007.

Survivors include her husband, Don Clark of Bryan; sons and daughters-in-law, Richard “Dick” and Sharon Clark of Cincinnati, Robert “Bob” and Teri Clark of Houston and; grandsons, Joshua Clark of Houston, Bryan Clark and wife, Leslie, of Naperville, Ill.,; granddaughters, Marianne Gjerstad and husband, Garrett, of Kansas City, Mo.; great-grandchildren, Elizabeth Hope Clark of Gainesville, Fla., and Jackson Jones Clark of Naperville, Ill.; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Elmer and Marge Kohlhepp of Eau Claire, Wis., and Glenn and Ann Kohlhepp of Bryan; exchange student Moris Cabezas and wife Lori, of Tampa and their children, Louis Cabezas and wife, Kelly Ogden, of Los Angeles, and Andy Cabezas and Melanie Cabezas, both of Tampa; numerous nieces and nephews; and his United Methodist Church family and friends and Carriage Inn family.