Obituary of Theresa P Clark

Theresa P. Clark, 94, of Washington, NJ passed away peacefully on February 28, 2024 surrounded by her family. Theresa was born on November 8, 1929, in Staten Island, NY to the late William and Hedwig Paul. Theresa was well known for her strength and determination, starting with a childhood battle with polio and persisting throughout her life. She was a force of nature and a fierce defender of all that she loved. She married her best friend and love of her life Joseph B. Clark in 1953. Together they celebrated 69 years of marriage until his passing in 2022. They enjoyed many of their early years of marriage in Norfolk, VA before returning to Staten Island, NY to start their family. In 1970, they moved to Bridgewater, NJ where they raised their family before retiring in Washington, NJ. Her favorite job was working at a cardiologist’s office in Manhattan, taking the Staten Island Ferry each day. It was there that she began her love of learning about health and especially medicines - how they work, what their side effects and interactions were. Doctors were very often impressed with her depth of medical knowledge. She had a love of learning that extended to numerous college courses that she managed to squeeze into her routine of running a busy and happy household. Theresa was a devout Catholic and attended daily Mass with her husband at Blessed Sacrament Church in Bridgewater, NJ and later at St. Joseph Church in Washington, NJ. In later years when she no longer could get to Mass every day, she watched the Mass and the rosary on TV daily. She shared her faith with her family and a generation of children through teaching Catholic Catechism at Blessed Sacrament. Theresa enjoyed playing the piano, solving crosswords and cryptoquotes, and reading spiritual books. She was a fan of Facebook and the way it helped her keep up on the news of the day and her family. She loved to find interesting articles on the internet and enjoyed sharing information and tidbits that she came across. She was a prolific texter and found it to be a great way to keep in touch with her family, especially her kids and grandkids. Her family was everything to her. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Before her passing, she said how happy she was that she was able to meet her great-grandchildren. Theresa and Joe loved to spend time exploring throughout New Jersey - frequently driving to the shore for dinner. Vacations in Maine, Williamsburg VA, the Blue Ridge Mountains and Disney World were frequent and cherished. They showed all of their children as much of the country as they could including a cross-country camping trip, hitting national parks all along the way. Theresa will be greatly missed by all those who knew and loved her. She is survived by her loving children and their spouses; Mary Beth Ruh (Mike), Theresa Foltiny (Andy), Betsy Clark (Chris Weber), Sharon Levin (Andy) and Joseph B. Clark III (Jenni). She also leaves behind 8 grandchildren (Heather and Mike Ruh; Ashley, Andrew and Emily Foltiny; and Abby, Sam and Julia Clark) as well as 5 great-grandchildren (Hazel and Teddy (Ruh), (Noah (Ruh), Otto (Foltiny) and Alana (Clark). She is preceded in death by her siblings and their spouses; William Paul (Sal), Agnes Reilly (Tom), Florence Kelly (Frank) and is survived by her brother-in-law Raymond Clark (Marie). Family and friends may pay their respects on Monday, March 4, 2024 from 4-8 PM at Warren Hills Memorial Home, 234 West Washington Ave., Washington, NJ 07882. A Mass of Christian burial will take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Washington, NJ. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Theresa’s name to Carmelite Monastery, 26 Harmony School Rd, Flemington NJ 08822 or StarThrower Group, 20 Commerce Street, Suite 2013, Flemington NJ 08822. Funeral Arrangements have been entrusted to Warren Hills Memorial Home. To send an online condolence please visit www.warrenhillsmemorialhome.com