Gerlinde Clark

Gerlinde Clark, neé Metzger, died peacefully on September 14^th. She is survived by her husband Tom Clark. Born in Drensteinfurt, Germany, Gerlinde embodied love and acceptance. She was characterized by her deep empathy, lack of judgment, capacity for love, and genuine joy in learning about the experiences of others.

Gerlinde traveled to the United States in 1962 to visit her sister, and it was there that she met Tom Clark. It didn’t take long for Gerlinde and Tom to realize they were meant to be, and in 1963 they married.

After moving from North Dakota to Massachusetts in 1979, Gerlinde began working as a medical technician at UMass Lowell in the physical therapy department, enriching the lives of her coworkers and the many students who passed through the department’s doors.

Once Gerlinde and Tom retired, they took many trips in their RV, traveled to Germany to visit family, and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings of the home they’d created in Westford. She constantly knit hats for premature babies, made wonderful baby blankets for friends and family, and was an avid reader of many genres.

Gerlinde was a wonderful wife and mother, and she is remembered as an incredibly kind woman who could talk to anyone. It was an idyllic childhood, and the Clark kids enjoyed family camping trips, sailing and fishing, and magical holidays. When the family eventually grew to encompass her children’s spouses, the new additions remarked how lucky they were to have a mother-in-law who fully enveloped them into the fold, and who openly delighted in their presence. At family gatherings, Gerlinde would almost always say, “Isn’t it so nice we’re all together?”

Gerlinde was known for her always-positive fatalism, her irreverent sense of humor, uniquely German interpretations of English catchphrases, and her accidental anglicization of German words. She was a free spirit and preferred the road less traveled, even when driving, as “all roads lead to somewhere”.

Gerlinde remained close to her family in Germany, which included her brothers Gisbert Metzger and wife Kimo of Marsberg, Lui Metzger and wife Marilla of Cologne, and her sister Brigitte Bennemann and husband Karl of Berlin.  She made a trip to Germany to visit them last August and it remains a wonderful memory for her entire family.

The people who met Gerlinde all describe her using remarkably similar language: it felt like you could tell her anything; she was so warm, and even relative strangers found themselves laughing with her. Gerlinde loved to chat, and conversations were guaranteed to take many interesting turns. Most of all, Gerlinde loved her family and friends, and she was loved deeply in return. Her memory will live with us as we see her in every dramatic cloudscape, find her on the bright side of any hardship, and feel her whenever we manage to lead with love, like she did every day.

Besides her husband Tom, she is survived by her daughter Deborah Smith and her husband Michael Smith of Reading, MA, her sons Steffan Clark and his wife Julianna Mullen, of Kensington, NH, David Clark and his wife Karla Anderson of Middleton, MA, and her grandchildren Mac Anderson Clark and Andre Anderson Clark.

FUNERAL NOTICE

A private service will be held at Dolan Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in her name to the Beth Israel Lahey Hospital Cancer Center, https://www.lahey.org/giving.