Patricia (McMahon) Clark

A long and fulfilling life ended for Patricia McMahon Clark, who died on Wednesday, September 24,2025 after a sudden decline in her health. Pat was born at Elliot Community Hospital in Keene on February 3, 1933, daughter of John H. and Edna A. (McClure) McMahon of East Sullivan. Early on, she showed interest in two of her lifelong passions, education and music. At age 5, she began first grade at the one-room school in East Sullivan for 8 grades before entering Keene High School, where she was a proud member of the mid-century Class of 1950. After graduation from Keene Teachers College in 1954, she began a 34-year teaching career in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. She subsequently taught in Wilton, Connecticut, and Ann Arbor, Michigan before teaching in Mannheim, Germany for the Department of Defense in 1964-65. Pat then returned to Connecticut and taught in Bloomfield for 24 years. Along the way, she earned a master's degree in history and a 6th year certificate in secondary education. From age 5 to CALL programs during retirement, she loved both teaching and learning. Two years after her retirement in 1989, on June 29, 1991, Patricia married Charles P. Clark in Stoddard, New Hampshire. It was the first marriage for both. They made their home on Island Pond in Stoddard for 24 years, until 2015 when they moved to RiverMead in Peterborough. Pat's parents gave her piano lessons for 8 years. Their sacrifice financially and timewise hopefully was rewarding. She learned to play hymns on the reed organ at church services in Sullivan during her early school years. At KHS, she played in the orchestra. At college, she accompanied the glee club. During her teaching career she assisted music teachers as an accompanist and general helper with student choruses. She played the antique tracker organ for summer church services in Stoddard for 25 years, from 1972-97. Along the way, Pat provided music at weddings and funerals of childhood friends and many others. Pat met her future husband at a Monadnock Music concert in Nelson in 1971. They were regular attendees for 40 years. Pat spent Tuesday evenings in the summer at concerts in the barn at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, where she followed musicians from youth to age. In later years she derived pleasure from listening to a new generation as they began their music careers. In retirement, Pat and Charlie worked together on many pursuits, combining Charlie's expertise on the computer with Pat's knowledge of local history and people. They were especially involved in projects regarding Pat's beloved hometown of Sullivan, including over 700 photos donated by friends and townspeople, which were copied and given to the archives at the library, and a yearlong series of oral history meetings and tapings of older residents. Genealogical research into their respective families resulted in finding relatives in Finland and Nova Scotia, connections that continued for the rest of her life. Pat was thankful for the education she received at Keene High School from highly experienced teachers and wished to give back to her alma mater. She worked with classmates and alumni as a board member of the KHS Alumni Fund, Inc., which has honored outstanding educators at Keene High School for over 20 years. She kept data listings for classmates, and especially enjoyed the popular semi-annual Class of ’50 lunches until Covid disrupted these gatherings. Although Pat grew up in the small village of East Sullivan, which shaped her in many ways, she harbored a desire to explore the wider world. She fulfilled a dream begun from studying pictures in her old geography book in the one-room school by spending 6 weeks on the road after her second year of teaching, camping in her new Ford station wagon and exploring the United States in an uncrowded era just before the advent of the interstate highway system. She had a glimpse of the future in Oklahoma, where she traveled on a newly built four-lane highway and exited to a restaurant complex built over the highway. Later, she enjoyed cruises and school vacations in the Caribbean. After their marriage, she and Charles traveled independently about the continent, Scotland and Ireland, Finland and St. Petersburg. A music Elderhostel in Verona, Italy, in 2000, served as a springboard to visits to Rome and Switzerland. In later years, they enjoyed cruises and Christmas markets on the Rhine, Moselle, and Danube Rivers. A long-held dream was fulfilled in 2012 when they cruised the coast of Norway and visited the North Cape. These adventures included seeking out concert venues wherever they went. In her youth, Pat taught in Wilton, Connecticut, only an hour away by train from the Golden Age of Broadway in the 1950s. Comparatively unhurried, safe, and affordable, New York provided a thrilling opportunity for a young person of that era to explore American culture. Pat is survived by her beloved husband Charles; nephews John, Brian, and Sean; nieces Kelly and Kathleen, several well-loved “grands”, great grands John Henry #7 and Kayce James, plus caring cousins and a host of treasured friends and cherished students from all periods of her long life. She was predeceased by her parents and by her brother John H. McMahon #4. Per her instructions, there will be no calling hours or funeral. Donations in her memory will be welcome at the archive room, Sullivan Public Library, Sullivan, NH 03445, Chris Pratt, curator; Ashuelot Concerts (ashuelotconcerts.org) Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music (www/applehill.org); Electric Earth Concerts (electricearthconcerts.org) Services are under the care of Cheshire Family Funeral Home, Chapel, and Crematories. www.cheshirefamilyfh.com.

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Patricia (McMahon) Clark

February 3, 1933 - September 24, 2025