March 25, 1944 – December 5, 2023

Carol Clark of Friendswood, Texas was born March 25, 1944, to Earl and Lois Jones in Lufkin, Texas. They, along with her husband and life-long love, James, welcomed her to her eternal home on December 5, 2023.

Left to grieve her passing are sons and daughters-in-law, Jason and Kellen Clark, Sterling and Brandy Clark; daughter and son-in-law, Millie and Brian Battenfield; sisters, Margie Green and Joyce Simpson; sister and brother-in-law, Bonnie and Bob Tuey; brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Brenda Jones, Charles and Denise Jones; sister-in-law and husband, Doris and C.E. Reed; beloved grandchildren, Connor Clark, Matthew Clark, Raegan Clark, Joshua Garza, Kelsey Vanecek, Cassidy and Jordan Saez, Claire and Tommy Willoughby, Katie Clark, Jacob Battenfield; treasured great grandchildren, Kayden Vanecek, Noah Garza, and Cecilia Saez; an aunt and many nieces, nephews, cousins, co-workers and friends.

Carol’s father, Earl, was a logger who ran his own company for 38 years. Her mother, Lois, was a hairdresser who paused working to raise her family. Lois was an accomplished homemaker and seamstress and passed her skills to her children. Lois and Earl worked very hard to provide a good life for their six children. Carol saw and experienced, from an early age, the value of hard work and she carried this with her to the very end. She was disappointed this Thanksgiving when she was unable to get up to help prepare her mother’s traditional dressing. We made it for her, but she didn’t enjoy it as much as she would have if she could have helped make it.

When Carol was young it was her job to go down to the barn early in the morning before school to milk the cow. She was good at it and the oldest of her siblings Margie, Joyce and Ed took turns over the years to help her, with varying degrees of success and enjoyment. Her most consistent partner was Ed who would go with her each day to milk and feed the cows. Bonnie was too young to participate in this early morning chore, and Charles hadn’t been born yet. Carol valued the time with her siblings and living life in the country. She always took joy in telling her kids and grandkids about living a life on a farm and having these experiences that are so rare these days.

Carol started school in a one room schoolhouse in Shawnee Prairie, where she shared a teacher with a handful of other local children of varying ages. When that school closed a few years later, she and her siblings began riding the school bus to school in Huntington.

She graduated from Huntington High School in 1962. During her time there, as a sophomore she was named “Basketball Sweetheart.” As a Junior, she was “Junior Beauty” and “Best all Around.” As a senior she was named “Senior Beauty” and was a member of the National Honor Society. She was a cheerleader that year and was along for the excitement of the basketball team winning at state.

After graduation, she completed a business school program. She learned shorthand and the business knowledge that would combine with her parents’ entrepreneurial examples to lay the groundwork for her to later run her own business. After completing the business school, she went straight to work at Southern Pine Lumber Company which later became Temple Industries in Diboll. She worked there for about three and a half years and during that time, she bought herself a new white Ford Fairlane. She was still living at home so she and her siblings would take off together in her new car for trips to the beach and Six Flags. They would also drive to Louisiana to visit their Aunt Nede and got to go to the Louisiana Hayride several times. They caught live performances of the Statler Brothers, Johnny Cash, and June Carter Cash.

In the spring of 1966, a co-worker at Southern Pine, Milford Ruby, mentioned he knew someone she might like to meet. He set up a blind date for Carol to meet his wife Ruth’s cousin from Houston. She has often told the story that after the date, he said, “Maybe I will arrange to make the drive back to see you sometime.” Her response to him was, “Oh, you’ll be back.” This was the date that started it all.

After a few months of James burning up the road on his motorcycle between Houston and Lufkin, many more dates, chaperoned (by order of Earl and Lois) by 13-year-old Bonnie or 3-year-old Charles, a “Can I marry your daughter” conversation took place. While James was making his case, Earl was sharpening his butcher knife getting ready to cut up a catfish. After making James really sweat & squirm for a while, he gave his permission. James popped the question and they were married on August 20, 1966, at Ruth and Milford’s home in Diboll. She wore a beautiful, classic wedding gown that she made herself.

After the wedding they bought a house in Pasadena and 3 years later welcomed their firstborn, Jason, in May of 1969. A job for James prompted a move shortly after to Freeport and Sterling arrived in January of 1971. Mom’s sister Bonnie would come visit from Lufkin to help Carol with the babies and continued to be there to help Carol and her family, in any way that was needed, all through the years.

The family of four moved to Angleton and welcomed Amelia in September of 1974. The next move was soon after to a neighborhood in Friendswood. Carol’s priority remained these 3 small children, but to bring in some extra money, she would put her sewing skills to work making and selling draperies. Due to her eye for design and attention to detail, soon she had more drapery orders than she could fulfill alone, so James started helping her. It wasn’t too long before he quit his job, and Clark’s Drapery was born.

After about 3 years in that house, they were in need of a bigger shop, more sewing machines and a place where they could welcome customers. They moved the family to another home in Friendswood with a large garage shop on 5 acres. Carol and James ran this business together for 18 years before selling it. If you had custom window coverings in this area at that time, Clark’s Drapery most likely made them.

After selling the business, James went to work for Southwest Airlines and bought a Gold Wing. Carol and James travelled by air and motorcycle all over the country with friends and family for the next 2 decades that he worked there. Travelling together was a highlight of their marriage. Carol worked at a few other places through the years, including clothing stores and a chiropractic clinic. Most recently she spent her time rocking babies and caring for toddlers at Children’s Day at First Baptist Church in Friendswood, where she has been a member close to five decades.

Carol loved plants and took great joy in working in her yard to make it beautiful. She loved decorating and you can see her exquisite taste in the way she kept her home. She loved beautiful clothing and shoes and the procurement of them. She was a talented cook and loved to cook for her family. She is known for her baking skills as well. Mimi’s cookie jar has always been stocked with the absolute best chocolate chip cookies for her visitors. She loved being a wife, mother, grandmother and eventually a great grandmother. She and James were both very proud of how the family they started continues to grow, and proud of every member of it.

Carol had 56 years of life and love with James and devotedly cared for him as he struggled with cancer last year. She did everything she could to make the most of the limited time we had left with him. She weathered the devastation of his loss with her usual strength and grace, but it was very hard on her. She worked diligently to navigate all of the details of his passing in preparation to make things easier on her children when this time would come when we would have to let her go as well.

Carol was the kind of mother everyone deserves and very few are fortunate enough to have. She exhibited unwavering love for her family throughout the wonderful times as well as the very difficult times. She made friends everywhere she went.

She was beautiful inside and out, in every way. She really was the “Best All Around.”

Friends are cordially invited to the visitation with the family on Monday, December 11, 2023 at 1:00 P.M. with the Service of Remembrance to follow at 2:00 P.M. at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, 311 N. Friendswood Dr., Friendswood, Texas 77546 with Rev. Moe Mays officiating

Please join the family for a reception following the service, at First Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall, 111 E. Heritage Dr., Friendswood, Texas 77546