Heather Anne Clark: A Tribute to Her Life by Mildred Anne Clark Introduction Dedicated to the memory of Heather Anne Clark (1975-1996). Heather was born in McMinnville, Tennessee, on May 5, 1975. She died on October 5, 1996, as a result of an automobile accident. She was 21 years old. Heather lived in Tennessee, Arizona, Colima(Mexico), and Sonora (Mexico). She spent 12 years of her life serving God on the mission field and spent all her life serving God and others. She was hardworking, kind and generous to others, loved by all who knew her, and the most unselfish person we have ever known. These pages will contain the story of her life - in words, pictures, music, and tributes. It is hoped that this site will encourage others to know and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Heather served faithfully all her life. Heather's parents are Jerry & Anne Clark. Her sister is Hannah May Clark. If you wish to e-mail us, you may do so at the address below. Thank you for taking the time to stop and consider the precious life of Heather Anne Clark. Heather's Birth Heather Anne Clark, daughter of Walter Jerry and Mildred Anne Clark, was born on Monday, May 5, 1975, at 8:40 A.M., at Warren County General Hospital, McMinnville, Tennessee. She weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 22 and 1/4 in. long. Her chest was 13 in. and her head 13 in. The birth was a normal delivery. Her maternal grandparents were Fred Lewis McGlothin and Mildred Louise McGlothin. Her paternal grandparents were Walter O. Clark and Rowena Clark. At six weeks of age, she weighed ten pounds. At five months, she weighed 15 pounds, and when she was five years old she weighed 41 pounds and was 44 inches tall. She was five weeks old the first time she smiled and at six weeks she laughed her first real laugh. She first turned over from back to front at 3 and 1/2 months and from front to back at 4 months. She first crawled at 5 months and pulled herself up to a sitting position at 7 months and one week. One week later, she stood up in her crib. She was around one year old when she really started walking. Her first words were gigum, hagar ah, dada, baba, nana, hidi, hidi Sugar Pie! She was five months old when she got her first tooth. She spoonfed herself at the age of 14 months. She went on her first picnic when she was 1 month old and on her first out-of-town trip (to Murfreesboro, TN) at the age of 2 months. Her first vacations were to Baton Rouge, LA (1977), Bisbee, AZ (1978), and Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA (1978). Her first toys were a 'Heather' doll (Holly Hobby's friend), an orange squeeze monkey, a playgym, etc. Her first favorite doll was named Tidys Pooh Clark. Heather's first playmates were Daniel LaFevor, Crystal Maynard, Allison McGlothin, Crystal & Charity McGlothin. Heather was a very good and quiet baby. She wanted to get along with others and played well with other children. Beginning at the age of 7 months, she would stand and wave to people and say "Hidi" to everyone and also "Hidi, Sugar Pie" and "Bye-bye Sugar Pie". Heather received all her childhood immunizations and her only childhood illnesses were viral infections which caused high fevers. She was in the Copper Queen Hospital (Bisbee, AZ) for three days in February, 1978, because of a high fever occasioned by an acute viral infection. Heather's Early Life Heather counted to ten for the first time on October 31, 1977. She was about 2 and 1/2 years old. She already knew all her colors and could put together a puzzle with 26 pieces. In January, 1978, she recited all her ABC's. She could also print her ABC's and her name at this time. She learned to tie bows in March 1980. Her favorite stories were "David, the King", "The Burning Fiery Furnace", "Mickey Mouse's Picnic", "Bugs Bunny's Don't Forget My Birthday", "Zacchaeus", the Curious George books, and the "Francis" books. Heather sang her first solo in church in April, 1980, while her mother played the piano for her. The song was "Jesus Loves Me." In November, 1980, she sang "For God So Loved The World" at church and accompanied herself on the toy guitar her Daddy had made for her. She sang her first song in Spanish ("Alto, Voy a Contarte") in a church service in February, 1981. However, when she was only three years old, Heather was already singing many songs at home and for her family, including "Be Careful Little Eyes", "Amazing Grace", "This Is The Way The Blackbirds Flew", "Victory in Jesus", "Deep and Wide", etc. Heather always loved music and had a toy piano which she loved to play. She also made pretend musical instruments and would pretend to play while humming to herself. Heather could recite the Lord's Prayer and many Bible verses. She knew many Bible stories and could say all the books of the New Testament in order when she was 2 and 1/2 years old. By the next year, she had also learned all the books of the Old Testament. She loved to be read to by her Mommy and Daddy and her mother taught her to read when she was about four years old. Heather went to kindergarten at home and always loved to read. Her favorite books were the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories and the Trixie Belden Mystery Stories. She also liked other similar books for girls. She always loved to put puzzles together and, as she got older, liked more and more difficult puzzles of 1000 and 2000 pieces. Many of her puzzles were framed. She also liked to color, to draw and to write stories. She wrote three mystery stories about a girl detective named Susie Samson. Heather always liked to work and to help others. She learned to clean sinks and mop floors in September 1980. She would help her Daddy with his writing and other work. She made a pillow by herself in October, 1980, which she gave to her mother, and she made her first potholder in November of that same year. Heather was a very happy, contented little girl who loved to skip and hop along at your side while you held her hand. She loved people and wanted to make friends and help others. She was meek and mild and would not stand up for herself when wronged but would stand up for others when she thought that they were being treated wrongly. She always displayed an interest in God and in spiritual things and she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior when she was four and one-half years old. She never wavered from her commitment to her Lord & Savior but spent her life "doing good" and helping others. She was baptized in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, in May 1983. Heather's Sister On May 17, 1979, something special happened in Heather's life. She got a new baby sister, Hannah May Clark. Heather's Daddy brought Hannah and her mommy home from the hospital in McMinnville to the bookstore where she and her grandmother were working. While her mommy and baby sister waited in the truck, she and her Daddy came out. She was wearing the red dress her Mommy had made for her and she was skipping at her Daddy's side while holding his hand. She was very excited. She enjoyed playing with Hannah and they were always close. While Hannah slept, her Mommy would read to Heather and teafh her things. Once Heather climbed into her sister's crib and lay down when she wasn't in there. Heather taught Hannah to color on October 10, 1980. Heather's Trips & Vacations Heather took a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in June, 1977. Heather's mother had lived in Denham Springs (a suburb of Baton Rouge) when she was around 11 years old and she wanted Heather to see the church and school she had attended and the house where she had lived. This was Heather's first vacation and she really enjoyed herself. She bought a pair of sunglasses and really thought she looked cool in them. She also went swimming for the first time and met some of her mother's friends from her school days. Heather had always been taught to hold hands with her mother and father while asking God's blessing on a meal and when she did this at the home of some friends there, they were surprised. In January, 1978, Heather visted Arizona for two months. It was her first trip West and the scenery was quite different to her. When she saw the Western mountains for the first time, she was amazed and said, "Why would a body do a thing like that for?" She visited Bisbee, Tombstone, Tucson, Sierra Vista, Douglas, and other areas of Arizona as well as Naco and Agua Prieta, Mexico. She also saw many sites along the way in Arkansas, Texas, and New Mexico. She collected many souvenirs, including tee-shirts, cowboy and Mexican hats, and toys. It was while in Bisbee, AZ, that Heather got sick with a high fever due to a viral infection. She was hospitalized for 3 days, which she didn't enjoy at all. In August and again in October, 1978, Heather visited Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. This was her first view of the ocean. Heather always enjoyed trips. She enjoyed travelling and looking out the window of the pick-up. She never complained about the length of the trips or about being bored or tired. She always enjoyed attending church in the different towns she visited and liked meeting new people. Heather's Education Heather attended Greenway Elementary School, Bisbee, Arizona, for first and second grades with Mrs. Hirales as her teacher. Her teacher wa so amazed that she could read so well already. Her Mommy had taughter her to read at age four from Mickey Mouse workbooks. We then moved to Naco, Sonora, Mexico, where she attended the Mexican school for a while. She then began to home school and her Daddy taught her the rest of her education until her graduation at age 17. The books were supplied by Calvary Christian School, McMinnville, Tennessee. She made excellent grades always and scored high on her ACT exams. SHe attended college at Motlow Community College, McMinnville, Tennessee, where she made all A's and B's. She also took some CLEP courses on which she scored well. Heather's Missions & Ministry In Mexico, we lived in the Casa Pastoral (parsonage) in back of the church. Heather played well with the Mexican children. She learned to ride a bike there and picked up the Spanish language well. She loved to sing in Spanish. Later, we moved back to Bisbee, Arizona, but continued working in the churches in Naco and Agua Prieta, Mexico. Heather was a big help in the ministry and missions, even at an early age. She invited many people to church and Sunday School and to Bible Clubs which were held in our home. She helped with the various church activities, substituted as a Sunday School teacher, and memorized many Bible verses. Heather was baptized in the church in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. Her Mommy taught her to play the piano while we were living in the church in Mexico. She finished her first piano book and started on the second book there. Her Mommy was thrilled when she heard her play the "Indian Song" for the first time. Later in life, Heather learned to play very well, both by note and by ear. Heather's Work In Bisbee, Arizona, Heather became a "Candy Striper" at the Copper Queen Community Hospital. She began to do volunteer work there at the age of 14 and increased her hours when she became 15. Her superiors highly praised her. One commented that Heather didn't have to be told what to do - she would see something that needed to be done and would go ahead and do it. Heather's first paying job was at the Dairy Queen in Bisbee. She began work there at the age of 16. She did her work well. She lived close enough that she could walk to work. Heather was always a hard, consistent, and efficient worker. She worked hard in Tennessee as a Christian School teacher and a Certified Pharmacy Technician. She studied for her CPhT exam and passed it with excellent grades while working at Calvary Christian School, Stewart's Plaza Pharmacy, and taking classes at Motlow Community College. Heather enjoyed writing also. She wrote a series of juvenile mysteries about a girl detective named Susie Samson. She also wrote Christian music and was working on a song at the time of her death. Heather's Trip to Tennessee In 1993, Heather returned to Tennessee because of her Daddy's illness. She graduated from Calvary Christian School as Valedictorian and gave a speech. She received many awards and trophies from her school work over the years. She worked at Stewart's Plaza Pharmacy, first in the luncheonette and later in the pharmacy. She worked hard and received her Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) Certificate in July, 1996. She especially loved working there and had many close friends, such as the Stewarts, Melissa Brock, Michelle Vaughn, Tim Akers, Judy, and many others. Mary Stewart said that she was a good, hard worker and very helpful in many, many ways, with the computer, with Spanish translations, etc. She said that Heather never had an unkind word for anyone. Heather worked at Calvary Christian School also. One student (Stephanie Albright) wrote a poem about her after her death. The poem was called "Stop and Think". Heather attended Motlow College where she made good grades. For her hobbies, she played tennis with her friends, with Melissa and her husband, and with Tim Akers and others. Heather had learned to sew, crochet, knit, embroier (crewel, stamped cross-stitch, and counted cross-stitch). She worked large jigsaw puzzles and framed them. She was working on a 3D puzzled at the time of her death. She also enjoyed drawing flowers. She liked to read, especially Nancy Drew books, Archie series comic books, and Perry Mason mysteries. She had completed her set of Perry Mason books just before her death. Heather also played the piano and keyboard and guitar. She loved to play religious music on the piano to relax and still liked to color in coloring books. She joined the Barber Sharps, a ladies a capella singing group, and enjoyed performing with all of them and made many new friends. Heather collected the Partridge Family albums and contemporary Christian music, such as Sandi Patti, Point of Grace and others. She was especially fond of the music of Chris Rice and thought he was a fine Christian man. She had met him at the ACE Christian School Convention in Gallatin, TN, several years in a row. Heather supported Christ for India missions each month and the Christian Law Association. Heather loved everyone and wanted to help others in any way she could. She was a tremendous help and blessing to her family and to many others. Heather's Final Accident On Wednesday, October 2, 1996, our neighbor that lived down the street knocked on our back door. She came in and told us she had seen our daughter's car and that it had been in an accident. We asked how bad it was and she said she thought it was pretty bad. They had to cut the door open so they could get her out. We were shocked and scared. Hannah called the hospital and asked about her. They said she had been sent to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. Her mother called Erlanger and they said she had been airlifted there. We contacted relatives and prayed and started for Chattanooga. We still didn't know exactly what had happened. The police had not contacted us and never did so. When we arrived at Chattanooga, they were still working on Heahter. We waited a long time. We learned that a 17-year-old boy had been driving recklessly, trying to pass two cars on a double yellow line in the rain, had lost control and smashed headlong into Heather's car. Witnesses said she had come alost to a full stop and she had her seatbelt on because one of the witnesses reported undoing it. We were allowed to see her that night for a little while. At first we were told she was not seriously hurt and would probably recover. But she died on October 5, 1996, of brain death. This was extremely hard for us to accept. Even though we knew Heather was a gift from God to us, yet it was so hard to accept that God had taken her back. We had spent many hours in prayer for her throughout her life - when she was sick, and for each problem that came along. She was a fine Christian girl and we couldn't understand why God allowed this to happen to her when she had tried to hard to live for Him. He could have done so many things to protect her. But we know that God is in charge and He allowed it for a purpose - even though it hurt us tremendously. We know He is taking good care of her and we will see her again someday. Heather's funeral was held at McMinnville Funeral Home on October 8, 1996. Hundreds of people came and many flowers wwere given. Bro. James Bell of Gallatin, Tennessee, Bro. Nestor Stewart and Bro. John Clontz of McMinnville officiated at the funeral. The Barber Sharps sange. Heather was buried in Mt. View Cemetery, McMinnville, Tennessee. Later a mausoleum was erected and she was moved into it. Heather was a loving daughter and a precious gift from God - we will love and miss her always.