Profiles

A Living Legacy

Mary Sedgwick Clark ’25 is living proof that Oberlin alumni continue to enjoy their passions well beyond their college years. At age 100, the Fitchburg, Massachusetts, resident is an active artist, photographer, needleworker, and nature lover.

“My sister and I were brought up to appreciate the natural world around us,” says Barbara Clark, Mary’s daughter. “Our dining room table was always covered with newsletter copy (my parents did a church newsletter during WWII for overseas servicemen), paraffin for candle making, leather for leather working, shells for jewelry making, moss for terrariums, turpentine for furniture refinishing—you name it.”

An art and botany major at Oberlin, Clark combined her talents by drawing microscopic botanical illustrations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Later, she married Edwin Clark and settled in Fitchburg, where the active couple took time for church, community work, mountain-climbing, hiking, and traveling. After her husband’s death in 1963, she continued her travels throughout Europe and the United States.

“All of our family members own something she’s painted or crafted, and she’s passed on to us her love of nature and her appreciation of all things artistic and creative,” her daughter says. “Best of all, she’s helped us find joy in commonplace things and everyday journeys.”

–Peter Meredith ’02