Patricia 'Patsy' Clark

Patricia “Patsy” Jeanne Gardner Clark passed away on August 28, 2022 surrounded by her family.  She endured a long battle with dementia that robbed her family of her joyous and loyal personality. 

Patricia (Patsy Clark) born on March 11th 1938 to Ben B. Gardner and Helen Marie Hill in Salt Lake City and grew up in Richfield Utah. She had 3 siblings, Ben R. Gardner(deceased) Greg J. Gardner and Jacqueline Gardner Leatham with whom she was very close.  As a kid, there was plenty of small town high jinks as the Gardner kids ruled the roost in Richfield.  Pat learned to swim and became a beautiful diver. Her love of the water continued throughout her life and her sons have wonderful memories of family Christmas trips to Hawaii.  Pat would be the first one in and last one out of the water.

Pat attended St. Mary’s of the Wasatch and shortly there after met Paul Clark.  They were  married on February 11th, 1961 at Our Lady of Lourdes in Salt Lake City. Irish twins were to follow with Paul Kevin Clark and John Michael Clark born in 1962 and 1963. Brian Benjamin Clark followed a few years later in 1970. Pat was a proud mother and attended all of her son’s sporting events, she was an avid sports fan. The boys attended St. Ambrose and Judge Memorial and both Pat and Paul were very involved with the schools and the communities. 

Sadly, Pat was widowed abruptly in 1982.  At 43 years old, with two sons in college  and and eleven year old at home, Pat became mother, father, bread winner and champion of her family.  Pat reentered the workforce and spent time at Paul-Thomas Jewelers before moving on to work for her brother Greg's physical therapy company where she worked until she retired in 2012. With a determined grace and stoicism, she focused on taking care of her boys. One of her proudest accomplishments was seeing all three of them graduate from college. 

Pat was a fiercely loyal, independent, strong woman, who had many close friends.  Once her kids were grown, she traveled with her sister and girl friends and was the life of the party, she loved her margarita’s and Bailey’s on occasion. As her grand kids got older she never missed a game or performance.  She could be found in the stands at a Friday night Judge Bulldogs game or cheering for her granddaughters volley ball and soccer teams.  She was the glue that kept the extended family together, hosting and organizing holiday parties and birthdays.  She loved to have her family over for dinner and a dip in her pool.  Her grandkids were enamored with the huge fish bowl of M&Ms that lived on the coffee table. 

She is re-united with her late son, Paul Kevin Clark and her husband Paul Monroe Clark. Survived by John Michael Clark (Tammy Von Bank Clark), Brian Benjamin Clark (Jennifer Layman) and her grandchildren Paul Clark, Shannon Clark, Alexandra Clark, Dillon Clark, Jack Clark, and Lily Clark. She will be missed greatly but we are comforted that she is no longer suffering.

Celebration to be held on Friday, September 23rd from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City. Please use the entrance and parking on the north side of the building.  Share your photos and memories with the family at www.starksfuneral.com