Carolyn Levy Clark (1927 - 2014)

Obituary

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CLARK, Carolyn Levy Beloved by family and friends, Carolyn Levy Clark died in the early hours of Tuesday, November 11, at Walnut Hill Medical Center after a lengthy battle with congestive heart failure. She was 87, and her life force never diminished. Carolyn was a fourth generation Texan born in Houston on June 17, 1927 to Leo Levy and Selma Roos Levy. She attended Mirabeau B. Lamar High School before coming to Hockaday School as a boarder and then graduating from Hockaday in 1944. Last spring, she attended her seventieth reunion at Hockaday. She attended Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans and then earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston. As the first step in a lifetime of adventure, she began her working life in New York in radio and theater. Carolyn met and married Milton Tobian in Dallas in 1950 where they raised three children - Susan, Laurie, and Louis. Her commitment to civic life aligned with a period of growth and change in Dallas, and she recognized the importance of equality in public education, connection across racial and religious lines, and access to the arts for all. Her involvement with the League for Educational Advancement in Dallas led to a diverse and representative school board. She brought the Panel of American Women to Dallas, and hundreds of women across the state learned the personal stories of Panel members - Protestant, Jew, Catholic, African American, Latina - and forged new connections for the betterment of their communities. In her professional life, she worked in Human Resources at Sanger-Harris Department Store for several years. Carolyn's love of art and architecture dates to her early training as a dancer. Her involvement with the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (now DMA) encompassed outreach programs and professional development for educators through her service on the board and through the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation where she was a founding member. In recent years, she championed the aesthetic preservation of the work of architect Howard Meyer, specifically the renovation and restoration of Temple Emanu-El, the crown jewel of mid-twentieth century architecture in Dallas. Melding her commitment to education and the arts, her vision helped to create the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Advisory Board. She was intimately involved in the renovation of the historic Booker T. Washington High School site as well as the building of the new and innovative expansion of the school, down to wearing and keeping a construction hard hat. Her devotion to the students and faculty of the Arts Magnet was legendary, and her presence on campus was a welcomed one. For more than four decades, Carolyn mentored, matched, and supported college-bound students through Educational Opportunities, Inc. Students under her care now serve on the board itself. Carolyn and James Howard Clark married in 1981 and thence commenced a life of adventure and travel. From the Arctic to the Antarctic and every back road or waterway between, they explored the world via motorcycle, RV, and ocean-going vessel. Their travels led them to a commitment to our environment and all its inhabitants through World Wildlife Fund. Jim and Carolyn supported emerging artists and carefully cared for the art from the collection of his parents, Lillian and James Clark, Sr. Carolyn was the central force and focus of her entire family. Carolyn's grandchildren share a deep and abiding bond with the grandmother they knew as Mimi. Her influence on how they view the world will be forever infused by her generosity, positive and optimistic spirit, acceptance, and love. Carolyn is survived by her husband James Howard Clark; her children Susan Palmer, Laurie Schell, Louis and Melinda Tobian, and Cullum and Nita Clark; her brother Irwin and Judy Levy; her grandchildren Scott and Joni Palmer, Carolyn Palmer and fiancé Timothy Swope, Adam Schell, Tyler Schell, Lili Clark, Annabel Clark, and Charlotte Clark; and one great grandchild Renee Carolyn Palmer. Carolyn is also survived by her sister-in-law Jean Tobian Eisenberg and nieces and nephews Lynn and Bob Schellenberg, John and Mary Wynne Eisenberg, Anne Berman, and Gail and J.P. Lavielle. Extended family includes Caren Prothro, Lee Cullum, Beverly Tobian, Charles S. Palmer, Jack and Sadie Wertheimer, Travis Froehlich, Drake and Mandy Borer, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. The family sends gratitude to her devoted caregivers Aura Castillo and La'Shaunda Drake. A memorial service will be held for Carolyn Clark on Friday, November 14, at 10:00 am at Temple Emanu-El in the Olan Sanctuary. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Arts Magnet Advisory Board, PO Box 192648, Dallas, TX 75219; Educational Opportunities, Inc., 3419 Westminster Avenue, Suite 218, Dallas, TX 75205; or Temple Emanu-El OTOF Building Fund, 8500 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, TX 75225.

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Published in Dallas Morning News from Nov. 13 to Nov. 14, 2014

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Carolyn Levy Clark
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Arrangements under the direction of:
Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home & Memorial Park
7405 West Northwest Highway | Dallas, TX 75225 | (214) 363-5401