Connie Clark passed away on May 17, 2019 at her home in Scatchet Head on Whidbey Island.
Constance Elizabeth Sauer was born on the first day of August 1946 in Cornwall, N.Y., to Herb and Tommye Sauer. She was valedictorian of the Class of 1964 at Cornwall Central High School, majored in math and economics at Pembroke College (Brown University), and then earned a masters in operations research from Stanford University.
In 1969, she started a 30-plus year career at Bell Labs in Holmdel, N.J., where she met her husband, Neal Clark. They married in 1972 and had a son, Alan, in 1984.
In June 2006, Neal and Connie moved to Whidbey Island. Connie became a volunteer for Beach Watchers (now Sound Water Stewards), supporting their website and computer operations, especially for the annual Sound Waters Conference. In 2017, she received the Jan Holmes Coastal Volunteer award. Connie also supported website and data collection efforts for several other Whidbey based non-profits.
Connie was an active volunteer at Langley United Methodist Church, and especially loved helping with the flowers.
Connie was an inspired gardener, who nurtured growing things on both coasts, and always had a keen eye for a plant that others may scorn as a weed.
One of her favorite places in the world was Tripp Lake in Maine, where she would garden to her heart’s content and kayak effortlessly along the water.
Connie was always challenged by puzzles of all kinds: anagrams, crossword, jigsaw and software puzzles (fondly called bugs). When her father lost his sight, Connie created a word game they could play over the phone, calling him almost every night to play it with him.
Connie will be greatly missed by Neal, Alan, Neal’s family, her five siblings and their partners, her nieces and nephews, many cousins, and the community of friends on Whidbey Island who made her 13 years on the island so rich.
The family would like to thank WhidbeyHealth and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for the excellent care Connie received.
A celebration of Connie’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Langley United Methodist Church in the Fellowship Hall.
All are welcome to attend the service and reception afterwards.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Sound Water Stewards, P.O. Box 1225, Coupeville, WA 98239.
