Mildred Clarke

After a brief illness, Mildred Myers McCravey Clarke departed this life on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, in Jacksonville, Florida. She was a woman of considerable intelligence, imagination, and creativity whose life was a reflection of her Christian faith. She was generous with her time. She knew how to pay attention, how to listen. She didn’t know how to be lazy. She didn’t mind being interrupted. She was equally ready for a children’s game, a jigsaw puzzle, or a late-night conversation about theology ... or philosophy ... or work ... or heartbreak. She loved projects, and she didn’t mind making a mess. She was very much at home with ... ingredients for complicated recipes (chocolate eclairs or chili sauce, for instance) ... wallpaper, paint, rollers, ladders and brushes to revamp or repurpose a room ... yarn for knitting or crocheting sweaters or blankets or afghans ... or fabric, batting, piping cord and scissors for her wonderful “Mimi Blankets.” She knew the Bible, much of it by heart. She could sing all the verses of many hymns without looking at the hymnal. She prayed frequently—throughout each and every day. She loved working in the yard. She loved baseball and knew a lot about it. She loved literature and the opera. She taught high school English, Literature, and French for eleven years in Scott County, Mississippi. She enjoyed her computer but only used it to play Solitaire. She never learned to keep her cellphone with her. She loved listening to her six grandchildren read, or teaching them to sew or cook, or seeing and hearing them play football, saxophone, soccer, baritone, or baseball. She felt privileged to live long enough to see the oldest three marry, and to become a great-grandmother with a new generation to love and for whom to sew and knit.She earned a Bachelors Degree from Agnes Scott College and a Masters Degree from Mississippi State University. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church and the Daughters of the American Revolution.She was preceded in death by Joseph Ransom Clarke, Jr., her husband of 50 years, and by great-grandson, Baby Joseph. She is survived by three children, Mary Katherine Clarke, Joseph Ransom Clarke, III and his wife, Penny Petro Clarke, and Richard McCravey Clarke. She is also survived by six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.Visitation will be held Saturday, January 26 at 2:00 PM at Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church, Fairhope, AL, with a funeral service to follow at 3:00 PM. A private burial service will be held on Sunday, January 27 at Jubilee Memorial Gardens in Daphne.     ARRANGEMENTS BY WOLFE-BAYVIEW FUNERAL HOMES & CREMATORY, INC. 27409 US HWY 98 DAPHNE, AL 36526 (251)625-2900