Jean Elizabeth (Golisch) Clark passed away peacefully on November 30, 2019 in Santa Rosa, California, at the age of 79. She is survived by her loving husband Tom, sons Jeff (Sabrina) and Brian (Devan) and granddaughter Catalina. Jean will always be remembered for her kindness, infectious laugh, beautiful spirit and love of a good book.
Raised in Arcadia, California, Jean graduated from Arcadia High School in 1957. After attending Pasadena City College for one year, she transferred to Occidental (Oxy) College, where she majored in education, and graduated in 1961. While at Oxy, she was president of her sorority where she met Tom, the love of her life. They were married for more than 55 years.
After her college graduation and pursuing her passion for teaching and love for children, Jean spent a combined 23 years as an elementary school teacher, while taking time off to raise Jeff and Brian. After living in Arcadia for more than 30 years, Jean and Tom moved to Cloverdale, California in 2000 where they resided for over 20 years in the Del Webb Clover Springs community.
Jean was an active member of the Cloverdale community, volunteering at the United Church of Cloverdale’s thrift shop, participating in book clubs and homeowner association activities, and also enjoying water aerobic classes. Tom and Jean loved to travel and experienced many adventures together over the last several years – exploring everywhere from Europe to Hawaii, in addition to taking many road trips throughout the United States and Canada. In October, they returned from a wonderful cruise to the Pacific Northwest.
The entire Clark family would like to thank the Calistoga Fire Department and the doctors and nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital — specifically Dr. Jon Karch and nurses Kelly Carbullo and Aly Work —for their compassionate care for Jean.
A memorial service celebrating Jean’s life will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at noon at United Church of Cloverdale (439 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale, California). A reception will follow at the Del Webb Clover Springs Lodge (210 Red Mountain Drive, Cloverdale, California). As Jean was an avid reader throughout her life, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity First Book (https://firstbook.org/).
