Frances Baumgartner Clarke of Apopka, Florida, a great grandmother to three, grandmother to five and a much-loved mom to three children, died Tuesday, May 31, 2022, after a long illness. She was 101 years old.
Frannie was known for her resilience. There were many times her family thought she would die, but she didn't. We thought she might be indestructible, but we always knew she was just stubborn and didn't want to leave us.
Fran was a great friend, and she loved talking on the phone to her many buddies she made over the years. She took special pride in all the friends she made at Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA), where she graduated in 1938. She arrived at SVA from her home in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Throughout her long life she frequently kept in touch with her many friends, no matter the distance.
Fran and Jack Jr. had three children: John III (Jackie) who was born in 1950; Diane, who was born in 1953, and Doug, born in 1954. She also considered Monica Berberat Burkhard and Liz Wilson Nolle as daughters. Fran and Jack met Monica and her family while traveling in Switzerland and invited Monica to live in the Clarke home for almost two years and sent her to SVA. Fran and Jack raised Liz as their daughter after the loss of her mother and grandmother.
Fran loved her kids. Family was always very important to her, and her family has so many warm memories of Christmas, special holidays and traveling together as a family.
Her marriage to John F. Clarke Jr. lasted for almost 75 years. They married in Hyattsville, Maryland in 1942. Jack Jr. predeceased Fran in 2017.
There was a long Clarke tradition of meeting at Fran’s Maryland home, where everyone would gather on the patio during the summer and eat tomato slices, cottage cheese, and fresh corn on the cob. Fran claimed that Silver Queen corn was superior to all other varieties, and she’d prepare it on her 1950s-era stove. In cold weather, we would squeeze around a tiny little kitchen nook and eat soup and egg salad. Other cold-weather days, we’d eat around the dining room table and she would always tell someone else they had to say grace. Fran was always a great hostess and a fabulous conversationalist.
Fran was also extremely generous and passionate about education. Fran and Jack Jr. set up a foundation called Hope for the Future, that helped fund higher education degrees. The beneficiaries of the foundation kept in touch with Fran and Jack Jr, and always expressed their gratefulness for their willingness to help them reach their goals.
Frances Lynette Baumgartner was born on January 10, 1921, as part of a Pennsylvania Dutch family in Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. Fran remembered her father's family speaking German around the house (a DNA test late in life confirmed her German roots). Fran recalled in an interview with her grandson, Kevin Litten, that her mother (Emma Baumgartner) was not pleased with the German language tradition because she suspected her in-laws might be talking about her.
There were many happy memories growing up in Norristown, but Fran seemed to relish high school at SVA, and often spoke of her happy memories in the Shenandoah Valley. She returned there often, including annual alumni events and for campmeeting, which was held on the SVA campus each summer.
Fran attended Washington Adventist University, formerly known as Columbia Union College and earned a degree in Business Administration in 1964. She also had a rich professional life, although she didn’t speak about work very often. In the 1940s, she was a secretary at the "War Department" (now known as the Department of Defense). Fran and Jack, moved to LaSierra, California. during that same decade, where Jack, Jr. attended college; Fran worked at the Red Cross for two years.
After moving back to Maryland, where she and Jack would eventually build a home in Silver Spring in the early 1950s, Fran also owned her own beauty shop. When Jack Jr. went into business for himself, (Clarke Inc.), she served as secretary and treasurer. She also earned her real estate license and worked for Panorama/Shannon and Luchs, selling houses.
Fran is survived by her children, John F. Clarke III and wife, Barbara; Diane Clarke Litten and husband, Christopher; and Douglas Clarke and wife, Jeri. Her grandchildren are Kevin Litten, Christy Litten Acosta, her husband, Mike Acosta; Jennifer Clarke Shulski and her husband, John Shulski; Jamie and Marley Clarke. Her great-grandchildren are Roman and Rylan Acosta and Isabelle Frances Shulski.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to a charity of your choice and/or just be kind and do something unexpected for someone in her honor.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AllevaFuneralHome.com for the Clarke family.
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