Kathy Clark, 98, a longtime resident of Skagit County, passed away on February 24, 2015.
She was born on October 5, 1916 in Anacortes, WA, the daughter of Tony and Jennie Vlatkovich.
After graduating from Anacortes High School Cathy married Shelby Clark and they made their home in Anacortes.
After a few years they felt the call of God on their hearts to the missionary field. So they sold their home and moved to Sitka, Alaska with their 2 sons, Wayne and Ralph, and built a church with money from the sale of their home. While the church was being built they lived in Baranof Castle which had been the Seat of Russian Government in Alaska. A fireplace in every room which was very fascinating for the boys.
After a few years they moved to Montana where they pastored churches in Fort Benton, Havre, and Scobey. From Montana they moved back to Washington where they pastored a church in Latah. A few years later they retired from the Ministry and moved to Oak Harbor where they took jobs with the Navy Base as civil service workers. Kathy and Shelby moved to Mt. Vernon in 1962 and continued at the Navy Base until retirement.
Kathy and Shelby were very talented musicians. Shelby played the violin and guitar and Kathy played the piano and accordion. When they were just teenagers Shelby taught Kathy the guitar, thus romance began! They also sang beautifully together. They both loved God and worked hard in every church they attended.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Shelby Clark; parents, Tony and Jennie Vlatkovich; and sister, Mary.
Kathy is survived by her sons, Wayne (Bea) Clark of Federal Way, WA, and Ralph (Janice) Clark of Burlington, WA; 4 granddaughters, Cheryl (Greg) Niemela of Puyallup, WA, Darlene (Steve) Crowder of Issaquah, WA, Beth (Dennis) Molvik of Shoreline, WA, and Debbie (Jeff) Jensen of Sedro-Woolley, WA; 13 great grandchildren, Geoffrey Niemela, Matthew Niemela, Catherine Niemela, Rebecca Crowder, Adam Crowder, Mark Crowder, Erik Molvik, Emily Molvik, Nathan Molvik, Alicia (Eli) McCombs, Nicholas (Cassie) Lubanski, Elizabeth Lubanski, and Suzanna Lubanski; 1 great-great grandchild, Cohen Lubanski.
A private family celebration of Kathy’s life will take place at a later date.