BAR HARBOR – Elizabeth Sinclair Goodspeed Clark died Dec. 5, 2009, in Bar Harbor, where she had resided since 2003. She was born Sept. 15, 1915, in Portland, the daughter of Sinclair and Sara (Jones) Thompson. She attended Portland schools and graduated from Deering High School in 1932; Colby College in 1936; and Katherine Gibbs School, Boston, in 1937. She was a secretary for some years at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and also for the superintendent of schools in Winchester, Mass. In 1942 she returned to Portland and married Douglas Kenneth Goodspeed, an architect. They were married for 29 years until his death in 1971. They spent many happy summers at their camp at Highland Lake, which Doug built. Betty was an active member of Woodfords Congregational Church, Women’s Woodfords Club, Literary Union, College Club, Colby Alumnae Association, Deering High School Band Parents and was a lifelong Girl Scout. She was a former board member of Kennebec Girl Scout Council of SW Maine, Greater Portland United Community Services and Sweetser Home of Saco. For a number of years, Betty worked as a professional field director for the Girl Scouts. In 1973 Betty married William Murray Clark, a former Colby classmate, journalist, author and logger. They lived in their remodeled schoolhouse in Caratunk, where Betty was a Girl Scout troop leader and a school board member of SAD 13. Bill and Betty moved to Waterville in 1987, where Bill died in 1988. In Waterville Betty was an active member of First Congregational Church, AAUW, Martin Luther King Jr. City Committee, Salvation Army Auxiliary and Waterville Women’s Club. She was an avid traveler and enjoyed many Elderhostels as well. In 2003 Betty moved to Birch Bay Retirement Community, Bar Harbor, where she continued playing bridge, doing crosswords, reading and keeping in touch with her family and friends, all of whom she cherished. She was a member of Somesville Union Meeting House and a member of the Missions Committee. Betty is survived by her daughters, Katherine Goodspeed of Denver and Suzanne Picurro and husband, Mark, of Seal Cove; sister-in-law, Louise Goodspeed of Honolulu; stepsons, George Clark and wife, Patti, of Manhatten, Kan., and Joel Clark and wife, Marnie, of Bloomfield, Conn.; grandchildren, Sara Wilmot of Portland, Benjamin Wilmot and wife, Amy, of Hallowell, Kathryn Laytar and husband, Marc, of Baltimore and Scott Gallant of Portland; stepgrandchildren, Douglas Clark and wife, Bonnie, of Lenexa, Kan., Mary Ann Clark of Manhatten, Kan., Jennifer Van Pelt and husband, David, of Greenwich, N.Y., Polly Fischman and husband, Josh, of Charlottesville, Va., and Andrew Clark of Bloomfield, Conn.; and 10 great-grandchildren. The family expresses deep gratitude to the staff of Sonogee Estates and Mount Desert Island Hospital for their support and loving care in the last year of Betty’s life. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at Somesville Union Meeting House. Memorial gifts may be made to the Salvation Army, 225 Main St., Waterville, ME 04901; Colby College, 4370 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901; or Somesville Union Meeting House, P.O. Box 96, Mount Desert, ME 04660. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 48 Eden St., Bar Harbor. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
ELIZABETH SINCLAIR GOODSPEED CLARK
