Marie Hill

Marie G. “Clark” Hill departed this earth on June 3rd, 2022 at Arden Place of Beeville, TX, at the age of 84.  She had an indomitable spirit, surviving decades with numerous medical conditions and defeating Covid before Vaccinations were developed.

Marie was born in Broadus, MT to E.J. and Anna Clark on May 24, 1938.  She was the sixth child of the nine born to this family.  She was the last born in MT at the old log cabin home.  The family packed their 6 children and belongings up and headed to Cherryvale, KS, where she attended school until age 15, and later went on to get her GED.  Marie, nicknamed Stringbean, was full of fun, and was frequently the subject of her 4 older brother’s pranks.

Marie spent a good portion of her early adulthood in Coffeyville, KS.  This enabled her to spend most every weekend with her parents in Cherryvale.  She loved to cut, perm and style her Mom’s hair every week and take trips with her mom and daughter to Independence to the zoo.  Always the adventurer, she loved to take a different route on the dirt roads each week.  She and her Mom loved to harvest wildflowers and cactus on these trips to be taken home and transplanted.

Marie was one of the most artistic and creative people around.  She could sketch, paint, knit, sew, crochet, tat, weave baskets, make jewelry, quilt, embroider, do wood-burning and so many other things.  She frequently created her own designs, and always had a project in her hands.  She loved to teach others and she loved to gift others with things she had made.  She was very generous of spirit.  Her motto was, “There’s always room for one more at the table.”  She was always one who could be called on for assistance of any kind.  Every stray dog and cat found a soft place to land with her also.

Marie was devoted to family genealogical research.  In the early days, this meant lots of trips to libraries, newspaper offices and cemeteries.  Later she mastered searching online, and connected thousands of names to the Clark family tree.  She delighted in all the stories, and embraced every one.  Her nature was to be accepting of everyone – the more unique, the better.  She was vocal for Civil rights and Women’s rights.

Marie was also a person who marched to the beat of her own drum.  She embraced a spiritual path, and relied heavily on her meditative studies and ancient belief system.  She loved to surround herself with symbols of the moon and Celtic designs, and listened to Celtic music most days.  She also loved puzzles, brain games and rooting for her favorite Rugby team, the All Blacks.

Marie was an avid reader and gifted with a brain for numbers.  She worked as bookkeeper for accountants and businesses in Coffeyville, including Tri-State Electric and Perl Chevrolet Buick.  She relocated to Tulsa, OK with her daughter in 1974, where she worked in accounting for Sutherland Lumber.  After her daughter was grown, she returned to her adventurous roots, and lived in numerous places while working as night auditor and Controller in the hotel industry.  Locations included Santa Fe, NM, Asheville, NC, and Pagosa Springs, CO.

Marie was very proud of her military service.  She was 1 of the 2 first women to serve in Coffeyville’s Army National Guard HHC, 174th Sup & Svc BN from 1973-1977.  She loved to tell her daughter, “Your mama wears Army boots.”

Marie was also known for her funny sayings.  Some repeatable in polite company, others less so.  When having a good day she was “Finer than frog’s hair”.  Other days she was “Meaner than a snake”.  She always used humor to lighten the mood.

Marie will be dearly missed by her family and friends.  She was preceded in death by a husband, J.O. Hill; brothers James A. “Allen” Clark of Great Bend, KS, Jesse “Neil” Clark of Red Rock, OK, Gerald “Jerry” W. Clark of St. Louis, MO, John A. “Andy” Clark of Berwick, PA, sister Nancy S. (Clark) Miner of Tulsa OK; a son, Michael Bausman of Osage City, KS, and a great-granddaughter, Courtney Crook of Emporia, KS.  She is survived by a daughter, Patricia (Thomas) Guest of Paola, KS; sister, Peggy A. Tucker of Independence, KS; 2 brothers, Phillip E. Clark of Tunkhannok, PA and Michael “Mike” H. Clark of Sallisaw, OK; 6 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; and daughters Denise (Hill) Wooldridge of Salina, KS, Brenda (Eudaly) Walker of Oceanside, CA, and Priscilla Stuart of Beeville, TX.

Celebration of Life at noon on July 13th at Johnson County Funeral Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 11200 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66210. (913)451-1860.  Family requests attendees wear Purple if possible, and bring any items handmade by Marie or photos to share on the memory table. Reception on-site following Celebration.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to God’s Dog’s Rescue, 12750 Trawalter, Von Ormy, TX 78073. https://godsdogsrescue.org