Billie Owens Clark, a longtime resident of Arab, Alabama, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, in Huntsville.
She was born on July 5, 1938 in Anniston, Alabama, the fourth of five daughters of the late Dr. Roy C. and Mrs. Lilla Mae Owens. She was preceded in death by her husband, B.D. Clark, Sr. and sisters, Dorothy Lou Cummings, Imogene McKelwee, and Ora Mae Mullendore.
She worked as a secretary at the Arab Primary School where she offered wisdom and love to the students for 28 years. She also volunteered with the Marshall County EMA for seven years.
For more than forty years, she was the devoted wife of B.D. Clark, with whom she shared many adventures including attending Shriner’s conventions, traveling around the world, and being devoted parents and later, grandparents.
She said the two things she did in life that really mattered were raising her two sons, Dean and Joe. As a grandparent, she lovingly hosted late-night slumber parties for her grandchildren where she would make them French toast and let them watch Saturday Night Live because “It is important to laugh.”
She loved holidays and family get-togethers, and treasured any opportunity to spend time with her family. Her home was always a welcoming retreat for family and friends where she would shower them with love and sagely advice. A master home cook, she enjoyed spending hours crafting up a meal to feed dozens, even if only a few could attend.
She was a great judge of character and would dispense her assessments with kindness, accuracy, and humor. She will be missed dearly by all of those who knew and loved her.
Survivors include her sister, Peggy Royce Gonsalves of Stuart, Florida; her sons, Billy Dean Clark Jr. (Judy) of Pelham, and Dr. Joseph W. Clark (Beth) of Huntsville; granddaughters, Megan Van Dyke (Reed) of Salida, Colorado, and Katherine Clark of New Orleans; grandsons, Billy Clark III (Kerry) of Portland, Oregon, and Joseph Clark Jr. of Huntsville. She also leaves behind two great-grandsons, Owen Brooks Clark and Benjamin Adams Van Dyke, along with many nieces and nephews.
A graveside service is being planned. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in her honor to your charity of choice.
