Beryl Middlehurst Clark

by Lynn McMillen
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Beryl Middlehurst Clark, 97, of Huntsville, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Beryl was born in Preston, Lancashire England, on October 13,1925. As a young volunteer for the American Red Cross during WWII, Beryl would serve coffee and doughnuts to the soldiers passing through the train station. It was there that she met the love of her life, Max Clark, a handsome American soldier from Alabama. Beryl sketched his portrait on a piece of American Red Cross stationary, gave it to him along with her name and phone number and the rest was history.

They married and moved to Mobile, Alabama where they started their family and their life together. That was a big change for a Lancashire girl to wind up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, but Beryl was not daunted. Traveling on a ship full of war brides and excited for her new married life in America, Beryl tossed her woolens out of the porthole window at the first sight of the Statue of Liberty.

Ever English, she cherished getting together with her English friends and having cups of tea or gin and tonics. An avid gardener, Beryl enjoyed long hours toiling in her yard, she also was known to enjoy a cold beer “especially when ironing”, and always enjoyed cheating at any board game. An artist for the last few decades of her life, she worked primarily in watercolors. Her paintings hang proudly in the homes of her family.

She was adored by her family with her grandson Jamie once proclaiming, “it’s a privilege to have her as our grandmother”. And it was…

She was preceded in death by her parents John and Elizabeth Middlehurst, her sister Joan Johnson and her husband Max H. Clark.

Beryl is survived by her children, Pam Howell, Decatur, Jackie Walker, Huntsville, and John Clark, Birmingham; her grandchildren, Kim Dickens, Jamie Walker, Catherine Gray, Alex Clark and Sarah Ball; and great-grandchildren, Ellie Gray, Reese Gray, Lena Ball and Julia Ball.

We would like to thank Huntsville Hospital Hospice Family Care and their staff for their love and kindness.

A graveside service is planned for Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. at Maple Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greene Street Market, c/o The Church of Nativity, 208 Eustis Avenue, Huntsville, Alabama 35801.

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