Edna Clark

Edna Clark
Dec 28, 1936 - Jul 21, 2014

Dr Edna Clark, a long-time resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, passed away peacefully at her home in Silver Spring on July 21st. Eddy (as she was known to family and friends in her early years) was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the daughter of Robert G. and Margaret T. Clark. In 1949, the family moved to Woodside Park in Silver Spring. Eddy was a graduate of The Holton Arms School (Class of 1954) and George Washington University. In those years, she discovered theatre and international travel, her favourite pursuits. She earned a Masters degree from Catholic University's renowned Drama Department and, while working full-time and raising two children, earned a PhD in theatre history from the University of Maryland. During her career in higher education, she taught theatre and communication at Immaculata College (1969-1975), Northern Virginia Community College (1975-1980) and Montgomery College (1980-1991). An enthusiastic teacher, she also directed student theatre productions with a light-touch professionalism that enabled performers and technicians to excel. In the 1970s, she used the student theatre environment to experiment in productions for children, and later directed 20th century classics like Light Up the Sky and The Crucible, and the off-beat comedy The House of Blue Leaves. In 1991, she was hired as a Division Head by Richmond American International University in London, England, a city she had first visited in 1957. At the time of her retirement in 1998, Dr Clark was Dean of Students. After her return to Montgomery County, she was named Professor Emeritus and maintained a strong relationship with Richmond's Performance and Theatre Arts Department under the direction of Dr Michael Barclay. Her archival research into the professional and personal lives of women actor-managers in the USA in the period 1850-1870 revealed the untold story of nineteenth century women achieving professional autonomy and economic independence decades ahead of the Suffragette movement that led to women gaining the vote. After her retirement, she wrote Fixed Star, a novel based on the life of one such actor-manager, Laura Keene, who was performing at Ford's Theatre the night President Lincoln was assassinated. The novel is available on Amazon. Edna's marriage to Washington actor Mark Hammer, a fellow Catholic University alum, ended in an amicable divorce in 1975. After her second marriage to scientist William Crockett Cooley, Edna married her beloved husband Walter John Reeder in London, England in 1991. In March 2014, John passed away peacefully at home. Surviving John and Edna are Edna's brother, Robert Clark and his wife Roberta of Haymarket, Virginia, and Edna's two children: David Hammer and his wife Ginger of Washington, DC, and Kate Hammer of London, England. Kate's daughter Audrey, aged 10, was a frequent visitor to her grandmother's Maryland home. A tribute to Dr. Edna Clark will be held in Autumn 2014 in the metro DC area. All are welcome. If you would like to contribute a story or attend, please contact tribute@throughline.co.uk. A fitting charity for remembrances will be named in the autumn.