July 24 1918 October 30 2019
Irene’s Obituary Irene Donnelly Clark, age 101, passed away at Mercy Hospital in Valley City on October 30, 2019. Irene Catherine Donnelly was born on July 24, 1918 to Thomas and Carrie [Sampson] Donnelly in Upham, Township, McHenry County, North Dakota where she grew up and went to school. The youngest of six children, Irene lost both her father and her older brother when she was age 10. In 1939 she, and a close friend, left home and found work assisting with harvest work at the Wagar family farm in rural Grand Forks County in North Dakota. It was here she met not only many of her life-long friends but also her future husband. It was during these years she came to know about Jesus Christ and made Him Lord of her life. On November 12, 1941 Irene married Gordon P. Clark in Valley City, Barnes County, North Dakota where they made their home. The young married couple spent the first six years of their marriage in the Black Hills of South Dakota and finally in Pennsylvania where Gordon was assigned to CPS duties. In 1946 they returned to Valley City where he followed his brother, Eldon, into the Watkins Products business, working a rural route for nearly 60 years. To this union four children were born: Janice [Robert] Klein of Valley City, ND; Joy Andrews of Fort Collins, CO; Daniel Clark of Oriska, ND and Marcia Koesterman of West Fargo, ND. She leaves three grandchildren: Sean [Tracey] Payne of Green Bay, WI; Danielle [Matt] Stone of Fargo, ND; and Brandon Koesterman of Fargo, ND. One great grandchild: Hanna Payne of Green Bay, WI. Irene cherished her gardening talents including both vegetable and extensive flower gardens. Her home was often the preferred landing place of many family gatherings and is remembered, among other things, for her great chocolate chip pie. Once her children were of school age, Irene also worked with the school lunch program and at local bakeries. While not extensively educated, her life-long love was to study and know the Bible, something she continued daily until shortly before her death. Preceded in death by her husband, Gordon Clark; her parents; two sisters who died in infancy, Annie Irene and Tressie Catherine Donnelly; brothers Clarence and John Donnelly; and a beloved older sister, Mildred Josephine Frances Redmon of Carroll County, IN. Her epitaph is written not in earthly stone, but upon the hearts of those who knew her. A Celebration of life and burial is being planned for Mother’s Day weekend, May 9-10, 2020. An announcement will be made when the service is set. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Mercy Hospital Foundation, Valley City. Arrangements by Lerud-Mathias Funeral Home in Valley City, ND. An online guestbook is available at www.lerudschuldt@bektel.com Read More
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Irene Donnelly Clark July 24 1918 October 30 2019.
Death notice for the town of: Valley City, state: North Dakota