Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Calls outside of office hours? No worries! Our team will respond within 10–15 minutes.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, January 23, 2015 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary’s R.C. Church, 747 West Bay Avenue, Barnegat, NJ. Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Manahawkin.
Claire Marie Clark, age 93, of Pompton Plains and formerly of Newark and Beach Haven West, died peacefully, early on the morning of Monday, January 19
In the early morning hours of Monday, January 19, 2015, Claire Marie Clark, age 93, of Pompton Plains died peacefully. Claire is formerly of Newark and Beach Haven West.
Claire was the second of four children of August and Elvira Boniface. She was born and raised in Belleville, NJ. After graduating from Belleville High School in 1939, she worked in New York City.
Claire met her future husband, Frank Clark, while on a date with another suitor. Frank graciously drove his friend and Claire to their date. After her lackluster date, Frank pursued Claire for a date himself. Claire repeatedly refused, until Frank’s persistence changed her mind. After eight years of dating and numerous proposals from Frank, Claire agreed to marry him. They exchanged vows on Saturday, November 10, 1951 at St. Peter’s RC Church in Belleville before honeymooning in Florida.
Claire and Frank settled in North Newark, where Claire raised four children. Once her youngest child reached first grade, Claire obtained a job working for the Essex County Hall of Records in the personnel department, where she remained for ten years until health issues forced an early retirement. After living in North Newark for twenty-five years, Claire and a recently retired Frank moved to their summer home in Beach Haven West and enjoyed their winter months in North Palm Beach. After Frank’s passing in 2002, Claire moved to Cedar Crest Village, where she lived out the remainder of her blessed life.
Claire greatly enjoyed gardening. Her house was filled with violets and a plethora of potted plants until the day she died. Claire was skilled in crafts. During her time at Cedar Crest, Claire loved to spend time making needlecraft creations for sick residents.
Throughout her life, Claire was exceedingly sociable. She wholly appreciated being around others, particularly at parties or get-togethers. She in loved cooking and baking for large parties of people, and felt that the most important aspect of a party was the food. Claire was an exceptional cook and baker. Her family enjoyed a wide variety of meals inherited from her mother as well as recipes she acquired from her vast cookbook collection. Claire enjoyed sharing her food with others. She once told her daughter that she was going to test out a different cake recipe every weekend, and wanted her family to judge which cake was the best. After four weekends of cakes, her Italian cream cake became her signature and most sought after dessert. From then on, her family asked her ceaselessly to bake “the cake,” which ultimately became its name.
Claire adored her grandchildren, who will always cherish the warm memories they have with her. She was always willing to teach them how to bake, make crafts, or feed the ducks in the lagoon behind her house. She loved seeing them lined up on the floor on pillows as they watched the same shows over and over again.
Claire was a devout Catholic. She faithfully prayed the rosary every night for many years. She was an active parishioner of Our Lady of Good Council in Newark and St. Mary’s Parish in Barnegat.
Claire was blessed with great health throughout her many years of life. She will always be respected for her devotion to God. Her family will always smile at memories of Claire’s five-o-clock Manhattans made with sweet vermouth, and laugh at her phrase of “just-a-taste,” before stealing your plate. In spite of her love for good food, she always looked like she came right off the runway.
Claire is survived by her four children: Michael Clark of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Judith Fisher-Costello and husband John of Middletown, Patricia Dunphey and husband Rich of Manahawkin, and Andrea Clark Stockinger of Manahawkin; eleven grandchildren: Anthony, Laura, Christopher, Ricky, Andrew, Morgan, Jackie, Ricky, Chrissy, Brian, and Michelle; and one great-grandson: Matthew. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Frank, her two brothers: Henry and Albert Boniface; and her sister, Flo Ioreo.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Claire’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142 (www.stjude.org), or to the Wounded Warriors Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 (www.woundedwarriorproject.com).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, January 23, 2015 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary’s R.C. Church, 747 West Bay Avenue, Barnegat, NJ. Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Manahawkin.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, January 23, 2015 from 4-8 PM.
A Funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary’s R.C. Church, 747 West Bay Avenue, Barnegat, NJ. Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Manahawkin.
Claire Marie Clark, age 93, of Pompton Plains and formerly of Newark and Beach Haven West, died peacefully, early on the morning of Monday, January 19
In the early morning hours of Monday, January 19, 2015, Claire Marie Clark, age 93, of Pompton Plains died peacefully. Claire is formerly of Newark and Beach Haven West.
Claire was the second of four children of August and Elvira Boniface. She was born and raised in Belleville, NJ. After graduating from Belleville High School in 1939, she worked in New York City.
Claire met her future husband, Frank Clark, while on a date with another suitor. Frank graciously drove his friend and Claire to their date. After her lackluster date, Frank pursued Claire for a date himself. Claire repeatedly refused, until Frank’s persistence changed her mind. After eight years of dating and numerous proposals from Frank, Claire agreed to marry him. They exchanged vows on Saturday, November 10, 1951 at St. Peter’s RC Church in Belleville before honeymooning in Florida.
Claire and Frank settled in North Newark, where Claire raised four children. Once her youngest child reached first grade, Claire obtained a job working for the Essex County Hall of Records in the personnel department, where she remained for ten years until health issues forced an early retirement. After living in North Newark for twenty-five years, Claire and a recently retired Frank moved to their summer home in Beach Haven West and enjoyed their winter months in North Palm Beach. After Frank’s passing in 2002, Claire moved to Cedar Crest Village, where she lived out the remainder of her blessed life.
Claire greatly enjoyed gardening. Her house was filled with violets and a plethora of potted plants until the day she died. Claire was skilled in crafts. During her time at Cedar Crest, Claire loved to spend time making needlecraft creations for sick residents.
Throughout her life, Claire was exceedingly sociable. She wholly appreciated being around others, particularly at parties or get-togethers. She in loved cooking and baking for large parties of people, and felt that the most important aspect of a party was the food. Claire was an exceptional cook and baker. Her family enjoyed a wide variety of meals inherited from her mother as well as recipes she acquired from her vast cookbook collection. Claire enjoyed sharing her food with others. She once told her daughter that she was going to test out a different cake recipe every weekend, and wanted her family to judge which cake was the best. After four weekends of cakes, her Italian cream cake became her signature and most sought after dessert. From then on, her family asked her ceaselessly to bake “the cake,” which ultimately became its name.
Claire adored her grandchildren, who will always cherish the warm memories they have with her. She was always willing to teach them how to bake, make crafts, or feed the ducks in the lagoon behind her house. She loved seeing them lined up on the floor on pillows as they watched the same shows over and over again.
Claire was a devout Catholic. She faithfully prayed the rosary every night for many years. She was an active parishioner of Our Lady of Good Council in Newark and St. Mary’s Parish in Barnegat.
Claire was blessed with great health throughout her many years of life. She will always be respected for her devotion to God. Her family will always smile at memories of Claire’s five-o-clock Manhattans made with sweet vermouth, and laugh at her phrase of “just-a-taste,” before stealing your plate. In spite of her love for good food, she always looked like she came right off the runway.
Claire is survived by her four children: Michael Clark of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Judith Fisher-Costello and husband John of Middletown, Patricia Dunphey and husband Rich of Manahawkin, and Andrea Clark Stockinger of Manahawkin; eleven grandchildren: Anthony, Laura, Christopher, Ricky, Andrew, Morgan, Jackie, Ricky, Chrissy, Brian, and Michelle; and one great-grandson: Matthew. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Frank, her two brothers: Henry and Albert Boniface; and her sister, Flo Ioreo.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Claire’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142 (www.stjude.org), or to the Wounded Warriors Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 (www.woundedwarriorproject.com).
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