Gail M. Clarke

Gail Marie Clarke was born Gail Marie Shearer on November 2, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was one of eight sisters and two brothers.

She attended public schools including Porter Junior High School and Taft Senior High School. Always beautiful in appearance, Gail was runner-up for Homecoming Queen. She attended the University of Cincinnati for a brief time, even beginning to pledge to the sorority Delta Sigma Theta while she was there. In all schools, Gail was an enthusiastic participant in clubs and organizations that were popular at the time. She had a talent with fabric and the needle and was known to make clothes for herself and even classmates from time to time.

Soon after her time in college, she joined the workforce with the C&P Telephone Company, one of her first full-time jobs. She later moved into the field of banking where she enjoyed much success working in some of the more prestigious banks in large cities such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. She received many accolades and was often complimented on her work and positive interactions with customers. She even befriended the American ambassador to Cameroon while working in the nation's capital.

Gail had a remarkable memory for numbers. She had the ability to count money easily and recall birthdays, phone numbers, and addresses without ever writing them down. At the urging of one of her sisters, she accepted the gift of a telephone and address book in the recent years before her death. She wrote in it every number she knew.

The largest part of Gail's professional career was with the Department of Defense at what was then known as the Defense Mapping Agency. She worked as an Equal Employment Specialist in the Human Resources Department. In that area of her work, she assisted her fellow employees in learning and maintaining their rights as civil servants.

Not one to be boxed in, Gail's creative side expanded her work into advancing the interests of federal government employees, especially professional women. She worked on special emphasis programs that also taught about mapping and cartography, and history of those such as women, African-Americans, Native Pacific Islanders and more. She often came up with new ideas and was popular among her colleagues. She enjoyed the opportunity to work with the military and her visits to the Pentagon for meetings with "the brass".

She retired in 2007 and relaxed and enjoyed her time with family and friends. She renewed her interest in food and fun with The Food Network, The Cooking Channel and time at the bingo.

Gail was preceded in death by her father Earnesto Shearer, mother Nellie Frances Gray (Shearer), Sisters Norma Lane, Ernestine Shearer, Imogene Shearer and Jawanna Waller, and brother Richard Conn.

She is survived by her husband George Clarke; children Olivia Collins-Ashby, Paul Clarke, Melanie Clarke, and Edwin Clarke; grandchildren Monique Shelton (Clarke), Dallis Collins, Nicholas Collins, Grant Clarke, Sarah Clarke, Greyson Clarke, and Rosemarie Clarke; son-in-law Haywood Ashby, daughter-in-law Mary Clarke; grandson-in-law Clayton Shelton and granddaughter-in-law Smantha Collins (Elbert), and Tifanie Ascherl; great-grandchildren Dylan Shelton, Nevaeh Shelton and Shane Collins; sisters Fayanna Johnson, Lorraine Pullens, Judy Jones, and brother Earnesto Shearer.

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