Angela Mears Clark, of Bainbridge Island, WA, passed away on Saturday, June 15, 2013, at Virginia Mason Hospital, Seattle. She died of natural causes, at the age of 58. She is survived by her husband, Robin Clark of Bainbridge Island WA; and family residing in Fort Collins CO; daughters, Amanda and Ariana Clark; parents, Joe and Miriam Mears; sister, Laura Shotwell; and grandson James Willis.
Angela was born August 1, 1954 at Fort Benning, Georgia, to Col. Joe Glenn and Miriam Cain Mears. As a military family, they moved around a lot during Angela's early childhood. After short stays in Panama; Leavenworth, Kansas; Salina, Kansas; and New Orleans, Louisiana, the family settled down in Springfield Virginia. Her parents recall Angela being a fearlessly independent young child, as there were several occasions where she took off on her own little adventures. On one such occasion, when she was about 3 years old, the family lived on a military base in Panama. While her mother was hanging some laundry, Angela took off for a walk with her doll carriage. She went directly behind an unknowing couple walking off base, so the military police didn't stop her. Soon the search was on, she was found over an hour later, a mile away, wandering around downtown Balboa, and was brought home by the military police to her much relieved mother.
As a youth, Angela loved reading, singing, music and theater. Her sister, Laura, recalls her organizing the neighborhood children for frequent performances of her favorite movie, The Sound of Music. She played Julie Andrews' part. She was also very active in her church, and performed with their theater troupe throughout high school and into her college years. She graduated from West Springfield High School in 1972, and Virginia Tech in 1974 with a BS and an MS degree in child and family development.
On July 14, 1974 Angela married the love of her life, Robin Clark. Several years later they moved to the San Fransisco Bay area so Robin could complete his doctorate at the University of California Berkeley. It was there that they raised their two daughters, Amanda, born March 1, 1984, and Ariana, born June 24, 1986. During her time in California, she spent a number of years working at Planned Parenthood in Oakland, a job she found quite rewarding. Later she was an executive assistant to a child psychologist, and a convention planner for The American College of Psychoanalysts. She also spent a few years as a wedding planner.
In 2001, employment brought the family to Bainbridge Island, Washington. Angela had always wanted to live in the Northwestern US, and enjoyed both the climate and scenery. She and her husband took many vacations to British Columbia, Canada. They were particularly fond of the small mountain town, Whistler, and visited often.
Angela had always been a good cook, but later in life, she developed a real passion for the culinary arts, collecting and cooking thousands of unique recipes. A hobby her family enjoyed very much! She created a well organized database for the thousands of recipes she had collected.
Angela was a loved daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. She will be greatly missed, but lives on in the memories of those who knew her. Please feel free to share your memories of Angela here on this website