Shirley Maxwell Clark, age 74 of Estill Springs, TN, loving mother, wife, daughter, sister, educator, and innovator, passed from this earth on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, surrounded by loving family.
She graduated from MTSU with a Bachelor of Science and from UTK with a Master’s of Science in Social Work. As the Director of Social Services at Winchester Hospital (now STRHS), she established a hospice program and continued her social work career at Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga, TN. She then began a career in higher education, first at Cleveland State Community College and then she went on to found a Human Services Specialist Program at Chattanooga State Community College. She was recognized for her hard work and dedicated service by the National Association of Social Workers Southeast Tennessee Branch in 2000 as their Social Worker of the Year. A devoted educator, she was recognized in 1996 by Chattanooga State with the Teacher Excellence Award and in 2002 with the Advising Excellence Award before her retirement in 2006.
She was devoted to her family, friends, and neighbors, always including everyone she met in her ever-expanding circle of loved ones.
She was proud not only of her children and grandchildren, but also her Scottish heritage as a part of the Maxwell Clan. In 2019 she paid a visit to the Maxwell castle, Caerlaverock, in Dumfries, Scotland, built in the 13th century by her ancestor Sir John Maxwell.
She loved going to the beach with family, boating, and traveling with her husband of 45 years to historic locations in Germany, England, Scotland, and the United States. She poured love into her children and grandchildren, hosting many family gatherings and making lasting memories. The ripples that her life made in this world cannot be measured.
She was preceded in death by her father, Walter Thomas “W.T.” Maxwell, stepfather Joe Davenport, mother Edna Gilbert Davenport, sister Joyce Irene Maxwell, and brother Walter Ernest Maxwell. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Alan N. Clark, children Darrin Christopher (Cynthia) Puckett, Jonathan Bradley (Elaine) Clark, “Brittany” Kathleen Clark (Joseph Slayton); grandchildren Virginia, Abram, Eliza, Joshua, Natalie, Myles, and Reid; sister Kathryn Louise McCreary, and nieces Kathy Borie and Jennifer Pierce.
Services will be held at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Winchester, TN. Visitation will be held from 10AM to 2PM on Saturday, March 23rd and from 11 to 1PM on Sunday, March 24th. Funeral services will be held at 1:30PM, Sunday March 24th with burial to follow at 4:30PM at the College Grove Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her memory to the Helping Hands Fund through the Chattanooga State Foundation: https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/donate
Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 First Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931)-967-2222
