A Tribute to Carol Clark
1934-2000
WE MISS YOU MAMA
By Sue Clark Canup
The children you raised all numbered to ten
And if you were asked, you’d do it all again.
Our rural life was simple and pure
Because there was nothing that a few extra chores
couldn’t cure.
To feed your family you would hunt and fish,
Just to be outdoors was your fondest wish.
We were so many and had to share
But we never doubted that you cared.
You took on projects to make ends meet
And still made time to bake us a treat.
Your antique shops became the social centers of town
And when they were destroyed it didn’t get you down.
You fought city hall and won the first battle,
But then cancer came along and took the saddle.
Chemotherapy would help they’d say,
But you had to prove them wrong anyway.
The ambulance crew all knew you by name
And we pleaded that they would not let you go just
the same.
From day to day one could never tell
And I dreaded the words, not doing well.
My sister Dee called and said, “It’s time.”
On the plane I knew in the back of my mind,
I would now be returning her love in kind.
She held her newest grandchild with her face aglow,
For he was the only one to carry on her family’s name,
you know.
I’m glad I delivered her last request
In an Easter basket filled with the best
Homemade sour cream raisin pie that
No amount of money could buy.
She was surprised to see me in that bunny suit,
And even the nurses thought it was pretty cute.
We took you home to see the lake
And waited for God your soul to take.
The hospice crew were truly great
As we began to watch and wait.
An endless stream of family dropped by
And we reminisced of how the years did fly.
We knew she could hear us and we asked her in turn
If you were fishing right now would you be using minnows
or worms?
In the midst of two worlds she came back to confirm
That she most definitely would be using worms.
A true sportswoman she waited for the day
That catching fish in Minnesota was legal and ok.
Then she called out to her mother and brother
As her newly freed spirit began to hover.
I knew they would meet her on the other side
But I couldn’t stop crying no matter how hard I tried.
I held my post until they took her away
And slept in the warmth of her peace until the new
day.
In your hometown cemetery
You and your sister fought for the tree.
And when the thunder roared on your funeral day
We knew it was just two sisters having their say.
For Carol
by Terry Canup
Legend has it that the worst person on earth is your
mother-in-law. I have to tell you that for me, this was as far from
the truth as it could be.
As soon as I met her, I liked her. I saw where
my wife, Sue, came from. This small solid woman was pure Midwest
stock. She had a hard life, and lived it for all it was worth.
Raising 10 kids, running her own businesses and staying her own person
in the harshest climate that the lower 48 can throw at you.
Where winter is your deadly enemy, Carol Clark thrived.
She caught and cleaned her own fish, hunted her own deer and raised her
own food while being the heart of a sturdy Minnesota family. Her
youngest boy just blessed her with another grandchild this year, that added
to the 25 grand kids she already had.
Carol was a survivor. She faced tougher times
than I can imagine. The day that her town exploded and destroyed
both of her shops created a lasting image of her spirit I shall never forget.
A weaker person would have given up. Not Carol. Her stores
leveled, her inventory destroyed completely and no insurance, Carol set
her jaw and made the best of yet another difficult situation.
It seemed like it would be impossible, but, when last
I saw her, it was next to her brand new shop, built from the ground up
by loved ones. That was Thanksgiving of 1999. The shop was
poised to open come the next tourist/fishing season. Opening day
of the fishing season was important to Carol. It meant the start
of a new summer, new life for the earth and tourists a plenty for her to
chat with and show off her stuff. Carol was so proud of that shop.
She had every right to be. People traveled from far and wide to come
and visit her and her shops.
I did not know her for very long. A scant 8 years
was all we had. But I grew to love and respect her like few people
I have ever met. Hard smoking, hard drinking, and true to her family,
Carol was the type of person about whom great folk tales are written.
Ice house on the lake in the winter, deer stand in the fall, Shop keeper
in the summer. How appropriate that she lived in the land of Paul
Bunyon and Big Ollie. Parker's Prairie could follow that tradition
with statue of a Minnesota Fronteerswoman like Carol to greet its visitors.
It is people like her that settled this land.
Strong willed fighters who would not be defeated no matter what life threw
at them. She was an icon to the past, and a vision of the future.
She instilled in her brood that same determination and heart. When
so many have become so weak, Carol stands out as someone to look up to
and admire. Carol=determination.
She was far from old. Only in her mid 60's, with
the spirit of a 30 year old. The hard life finally got to her though.
We noticed last fall she was not as powerful as she usually was.
Sue was surprised to see her sleeping during the day. Come January,
we learned it was a fast growing cancer. Still, in her typical way,
she was determined. Through three comas and electric shock to restart
her heart, she fought. Sue was able to go for an Easter visit earlier
in the Spring and there was Carol being her old self, surrounded by family,
and the glue that held them all together.
In typical fashion, she did it again, She made it to
opening day 2000. When, on her death bed, asked which she preferred,
lures or worms, she replied, "worms!". The whole room brightened
for a moment. How appropriate that this would be her last thoughts
and her last word. She died in Sue's arms. The sky wept white
tears that day. Carol fishes in deeper water now, where walleyes
are plentiful and limits are high.
I think the world is a sadder place without Carol Clark.
I treasure those few moments I got to spend with her. I treasure
more the incredible impact she made on my life. Her daughter, Sue.
At Peace
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