Mary Jane Clark

Mary Jane Clark passed away on April 23 following a stroke just two months short of her 98th birthday.

She was born in the small crossroads town of Blanco, New Mexico where her parents ran the Blanco Mercantile, a small trading post.

She graduated from boarding school in Albuquerque, was the valedictorian of her class at 16 and attended Saint Mary's College in Omaha for a year before attending nursing school in Denver. She completed her Registered Nurses Training at Mercy Hospital in Durango and worked as a nurse for 30 years.

She married Jackson Clark and had two children. The family opened the Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango in 1981 and Mary Jane was an active member of the business for 42 years.

She loved Classical Music and was the second president of Music in the Mountains. She was a skier, a hiker, a traveler and more. Her most obsessive passion was bridge which she played three or four times a week.

For a more complete story of her life, you can link to: https://mailchi.mp/d96c387fd355/mary-jane-clark

She is survived by her partner, Jim Foster, her children Antonia and Jackson, her grandsons, Ed Clark, his wife Teresa and their children, Aidan and Gabiella and Nick Clark, his wife Katie and their children, Owen and Sawyer.

A Memorial Celebration will be held at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College on June 5 at 3 p.m. with a reception following in the court yard.

Donations in her name can be made to:Music in the Mountains, 515 E College Drive,Durango CO 81301 ( https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/musicinthemountains/251/donations) or to Dig Deep, Navajo Water Project, 932 Wilson Street, Suite 2D, Los Angeles CA 90021 (https://www.digdeep.org)