Eileen Clark

Eileen Marie Clark passed away peacefully in her sleep with her family by her side on October 30, 2025 in Coupeville, WA.

Eileen was born May 28, 1945 in Yakima, WA and kicked off a lifetime of semi-nomadic life when the family moved to New York when she was just 4 months old. She moved many times after this before graduating from high school in Mount Angel, OR in 1963. She attended four different colleges, eventually graduating from Portland State with a degree in English. Eileen was teaching in Metlakatla, AK when she met Wayne Clark who was serving in the Coast Guard. The two were married in Wayne’s hometown of Stevens Point, WI. They bounced around a bit then moved back to Alaska where Eileen taught in the communities of Pelican, Homer and Juneau, earning a master’s in English from Middlebury College along the way. Later in her career, she spent summers as an Administrative Assistant for Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English program in Juneau, Santa Fe and Oxford, England. After retirement, Eileen and Wayne moved to Coupeville, WA where they finally settled down a bit and Eileen enjoyed her hobbies involving fiber arts and reading and became active in the Keepers of Admiralty Head Lighthouse.

Eileen is remembered by all who knew her for her wonderful smile, razor-sharp wit and strong, independent spirit. We also desperately wish she were here to help proofread this obituary and to tell us where to properly use semicolons to avoid run-on sentences.

Eileen is survived by her husband of 52 years, Wayne, daughter Bryn (Louis), granddaughter Aven and younger brothers Bob, Jeff (Annelizabeth), Gary and Roger (Pam). Eileen was preceded in death by her parents Jim and Lorraine, sister-in-law Betty, and baby sister Jennifer.

A celebration of life will be held at the Coupeville Town Park Pavillion from 10am-2pm on Saturday, July 18.