Patricia Elizabeth Clark (Tipton)

Mom was born in Telegraph Creek where her father was the Postmaster and ran the Hudson’s Bay outlet. The family moved to England in 1936 but concerned about the rise of Nazi Germany, they returned to Telegraph Creek in 1938 where her father resumed his role as Postmaster.

When Mom was 12, the family moved to Prince Rupert. After graduating from Booth Memorial School, she went to work in the TB ward at Prince Rupert hospital. Mom moved to the Vancouver area in 1950 and soon started working at the Essondale psychiatric hospital. One rainy June night in 1951, Mom was walking home when a young psych nurse offered her a ride. The young man was Keith Clark, and he became the love of Mom’s life. After a whirlwind romance, they were married in October 1951. Over the next few years, their family grew with the births of Ian and Bruce.

When Mom wasn’t filling the house with plants of all descriptions or buried in a book, she was a regular volunteer and fundraising campaign organizer for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, the March of Dimes and the Cancer Foundation. Music was an important part of Mom’s life. Arthritis resulted in Mom having mobility issues relatively young but before that, she loved dancing. It was common to see her with the music cranked and dancing as she did housework.

Mom was predeceased by Keith (2006), brothers, Bill (2014) and Bert (2020) and daughter-in-law, Kathy (2016). She is survived by sons, Ian (Barbara) and Bruce (Kathy, deceased) grandchildren, Shannon (Mark), Colin and Jennifer (Derek) and great-grandchildren, Alex, Reyna, Sydney and London.

A celebration of life will be held in the reception room at Kearney Columbia-Bowell Chapel (219-6th St, New Westminster) on Saturday, May 9th between 1:00 and 4:00 PM. The family had already chosen May 9th as the date to have Mom’s 95th birthday party.