Betty Jean Beje" Clark

ROCKWELL ? Betty Jean ?Beje? Clark, 84 of Rockwell died Sunday, April 10, 2005, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 PM, Friday, April 15, 2005 at First United Methodist Church, 111 South Georgia Avenue with Rev. Jim Stiles and Rev. Jo Frahm Watkins officiating. A gathering of family and friends will be from 4 ? 8 PM on Thursday at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 North Pennsylvania Avenue. Memorials may be directed to the Beje Clark Memorial Fund. Betty Jean Walker Clark was born April 18, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas to Raymond C. and Mary Hunt Walker. She graduated from Hays (Kansas) High School and attended Fort Hays Kansas State College, the University of Utah and the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California for her undergraduate work and Garrett Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, Illinois for graduate work. She was active in the music field singing in the Betty Lavonn Trio with her sister for more than thirty years, teaching piano and directing thirteen choral groups in California, Utah and Iowa. Over the years she edited four church papers, published a religious periodical index and wrote for many national periodicals and Indiana and Iowa newspapers. In 1956 she and her sister compiled a book of meditations from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible which was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons. The book was reprinted in 1992. Beje directed the program for Iowa State students a Collegiate Methodist Church in Ames from 1948 to 1951. Here she met and married Homer Clark. The family moved to Mason City in 1959 and became members of Wesley United Methodist Church. Always active in church work, Beje held local, district and conference offices in United Methodist Women. She was on the staff of First United Methodist Church as Christian Education Director for seven years and Financial Secretary for five years. In 1976 she was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives where she served from 1977 to 1990. Her in-depth work on criminal and juvenile justice resulted in a governor?s appointment to the Advisory Council to the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. She chaired Iowa?s Justice Fellowship Task Force and served on the boards of several other justice groups. Beje headed the Restorative Justice Commission for the State of Iowa and as a result of her dedication and public service the Beje Clark Residential Center was founded to enhance public safety by providing structured, correctional supervision to male and female offenders in a community-based setting. Beje was a member of the United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, P.E.O Chapter LB., League of Women Voters, Rockwell Federated Woman?s Club, Federation of Republican Women. She is survived by her husband Homer, their daughter, Peggy Read in Mason City and two sons, Mark and wife Marie, Paul and wife Pam all of Mason City. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Mike Andrews and wife Rhonda of Cedar Rapids, Jason Andrews of Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, Cole Read of Mason City, Nicholas Clark of Tampa, Florida, Danielle, Jared and Mackenzie Clark all of Mason City and one great granddaughter, Jadyn Devine. She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters, one son, Stephen and one grandson, Nathan Andrews.

Visitation:
11:00 PM to 11:00 PM at on April 24, 2005 (map/driving directions) 11:00 PM to 11:00 PM at on April 24, 2005 (map/driving directions)

Service:
11:00 PM at on April 24, 2005 (map/driving directions)