Barbara Clark Myall passed away early in the morning on May 14, 2022 at Chaparral House elder care community in
Berkeley, California.
Barbara was born in Los Angeles on April 18, 1942 to Perry “Pat” and Jean “Betty” Clark.
She spent the first years of her life in Beverly Hills, then moved to Idaho with her parents in 1947 as her father left his position as an executive at the General Motors Insurance Company to pursue his dream of operating a fishing and
hunting resort.
Barbara grew up around Warm Lake Lodge, east of Cascade in the Boise National Forest. Her memories of the resort, the people who worked and visited there, and the work her father and mother put into improving it were always dear to her. She loved retelling stories of her childhood adventures, her horses, her pet deer, and the time she fed Ex-Lax to a visiting couple’s monkey. When she was 13 year old, Barbara’s father Pat died – leaving a sense of loss that stayed with her throughout her life.
She went on to graduate from Sacred Heart High School in Boise, then attended Holy Names College in Spokane and Michigan State University, ultimately receiving her BA from UC Riverside.
Barbara met her husband Thom when he came through Warm Lake as part of a summer program operated by the National Forest Service, where he spent his entire career. That career took them to a number of places in California – to Willows in the north, Rialto in the south, and then to Clovis in the Central Valley, where they spent ten years. In Clovis, Barbara worked as a substitute teacher and was also active in the Church of the Resurrection Episcopalian Mission. Along the way, they raised three children – sons Chris and Patrick, and daughter Hilde – of whom Barbara was very proud.
Their final stop together was in Goleta, California, where Barbara lived for 30 years. She worked as an ESL teacher and took care of her mother in her final years. In retirement, Barbara pursued interests in US history and her family’s genealogy, becoming an active member of a number of hereditary societies, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of Union Veterans, and the Colonial Dames. Thom shared Barbara’s interest in family history, and they pursued that together until his passing in 2011, after 48 years of marriage.
In 2016, Barbara left her home in Goleta to move to Berkeley, so she could be closer to her children who lived in the Bay Area – as well as her granddaughter Reba, who she doted on and called her “whippersnapper.”
Barbara is survived by her children Chris in Crested Butte, Colorado; Patrick (Megan) in Tahoe City, California; and Hilde (Matt) and granddaughter Reba in Oakland, California.
Barbara’s family would like to thank her caregivers and Chaparral House Foundation of Berkeley for their ongoing care and support over the years.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Barbara’s name to Chaparral House Foundation, Berkeley, CA or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
