May 15 2020
Gertrude’s Obituary Dr. Gertrude Margaret Clarke, founder and executive director (1981-1999) of the New Jersey Business/Industry/Science/Education Consortium, and the first woman president of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, died on May 15th, 2020 near the age of 88. Gert, as she was known to friends and family, was born on May 28th, 1932 in Franklin, N.J. She attended Franklin High, earned her baccalaureate degree from Douglas College in 1954, attended pre-doctoral courses at Rutgers University, and studied atomic, nuclear, and solid state physics at Yale University Graduate School. She received her PHD from Rutgers in 1987. Dr. Clarke dedicated herself to education, serving as a teacher of science (particularly physics and nucleonics) at Chatham High School, and earned recognition from Princeton University as well as the National Science Teachers Association. She took a one year sabbatical to conduct research at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. After conducting independent research on “The Generation of Electromagnetic Radiation by the Interaction of Charged Particle Beams Transiting Periodic Structures”, (primarily using the Rutgers University Accelerator in New Brunswick), she was given the opportunity in 1975 to continue her research using the cyclotron at Harvard University. Besides her passion for science and teaching, Gert had a life-long love of music. She played the piano and composed classical pieces – beginning as early as 1947- when she was fifteen, and she was a long standing supporter of the Philharmonic Orchestra. Gert also enjoyed skiing, skating, swimming, and perhaps most of all, she loved sailing. For approximately 40 years, she sailed with dear friends at Lake Glen Wild, where she took great joy in the friendly competition and many happy times. Predeceased by her father, Waldo J. Clarke, her mother, Gertrude Margaret Clarke, and her two brothers, Hall and David, Gert is survived by her dear sister, Carol DiVico, and a loving extended family. The burial will be privately held. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you consider a donation to the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. Read More
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Gertrude Margaret Clarke PhD May 15 2020.
Death notice for the town of: Butler, state: New Jersey