11/10/2014
Elizabeth H. “Betty” (Clarke) Clark, 89, of Pekin, passed away at 1:15 p.m. Monday, November 10, 2014 at Pekin Hospital.
Born February 25, 1925, in Spencer, Iowa to Irl H. and Lola M. (Webb) Clarke, she married Robert F. Clark on February 16, 1947, in Knoxville, Iowa. He survives.
Also surviving are two daughters, Lola M. (Gary) Holcomb of Pekin and Carla S. (John) Berry of Manito; two grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and two brothers, William (Glenna) Clarke and Irl (Esther) Clarke, all of Knoxville, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, Thomas, and one grandson, Gary Holcomb, Jr. During World War II, Elizabeth had worked at Boeing Aircraft Assembling B29 airplanes called “Black Bottom Bombers”. Elizabeth had worked as a licensed practical nurse on the obstetrics and gynecology floor of Pekin Hospital for over 19 years, retiring in 1981.
She had been a member of the Pekin First Church of the Nazarene. She also had been a member of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society, where she had served as their librarian for ten years. She loved reading and loved traveling and enjoyed visiting the West Coast, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
She especially enjoyed her San Juan, Texas trips, where she and her husband spent the winters. She enjoyed oil painting, playing cards, and collecting postage stamps. She enjoyed researching her husband and her family tree.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Rev. W. Lloyd Brock will officiate.
Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. The burial will be in Glendale Memorial Gardens in Pekin.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society at 719 N. 11th St. Pekin, IL 61554